The Ginger and the Marauder
by AsiaProductions23
Summary: Before the legendary night, before their death, before their son, before their love, before the beginning of the actual Dark Decline, Prefect Lily Evans and Marauder James Potter just could not find a way to get along like normal housemates. Marauder-era. Rated M for language, violence, and sexual themes.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

_So, I've always loved Harry Potter and especially the Marauders. I've suddenly felt... compelled to write a fanfic about the Marauders and Lily. It would be really awesome if I could get reviews, they mean a lot to me. Thank you so much._

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_December 10__th__, 1979 – Hogwarts' Headmaster's Office_

James had left the room to talk with Sirius, Remus, and Peter about the news about going into hiding with Lily. He had to tell his friends that they would hide for a while until Lord Voldemort's hunt for the Chosen One blew over… if it ever would.

Lily Potter was sitting in the large armchair that sat across from Dumbledore's desk. She had one hand placed over her stomach protectively, rubbing it slightly. It was too early to feel anything move inside of her or even see a bump really, but she knew that the child could feel the confusion, the horror, and the terror that its mother was feeling right now.

Slowly, Lily looked up at Dumbledore who came down from his quarters. He was holding a bowl of toffees and politely offered one to her.

Lily shook her head with a kind smile, which made Dumbledore shrug absentmindedly. He sat down and began scribbling on a piece of parchment, which looked like a letter. She couldn't see the address to whom it was, but she didn't really care at the moment.

"Dumbledore," Lily said very softly, a whisper practically.

No response. Lily supposed that Dumbledore's hearing was worsening… the man was 98, despite looking very young for his age.

"Dumbledore?" Lily tried again, still in her soft tone.

Still no response.

"_Albus_," Lily said, much more clearly and distinctly. The desperation in her voice was evident. A completely deaf person could hear it.

Dumbledore looked up calmly and raised an eyebrow. "Yes, Lily?" he replied kindly, stopping his writing to whomever it was.

Lily looked down at her hands, which were clenching nothing but air, and gulped. She didn't look up at him, but said clearly, "I… I'm very tired of death. I have experienced a lot in the last two years… the killings of muggle borns, my parents, even Will-"

"Yes," Dumbledore said as he leaned forward to rest his hands on the table, placing them in front of him, interlocking his own fingers. "It has been this past year and a half."

Lily looked up at him and said very sternly, "And I am _not_ ready for the death of my unborn child."

Dumbledore sat back in his seat a little and let Lily proceed.

"I might still be a girl in most people's eyes," Lily went on. "I might be nineteen, but that does not mean that I will give up my child to some ruthless, evil, sadistic, murdering _bastard._"

Dumbledore nodded simply, understanding her perspective, appreciating her honesty, and admiring her strength as a to-be mother.

Lily then said, in a strong, determined tone, as she pressed her hand into the desk as she stood up. "I will do anything to keep my child safe, and you know that, Dumbledore."

Dumbledore smiled weakly and murmured, "I know you will, Mrs. Potter. I know you are willing to do anything-"

"Then give me something to do!" Lily shouted impaitiently, slamming her hands on her desk, causing most of the items on the desk to shake or jump. "I refuse to let Voldemort to get the best of James and me! I will not patiently wait for the death of my husband and me to arrive at our front door step, so that he can kill my child! He knows _magic_, magic that I could never dream of using or even understanding!"

Dumbledore remained quiet, letting her finish her well-deserved rant of anger, frustration, and horror.

"But then again, so do you, Dumbledore!" Lily shouted as she put a hand towards him. "You know more magic than any of us combined! So please, help me in saving my child. My child who is being born into pain, suffering, and violence. He does not deserve to be killed before even being born into this world! He has done nothing!"

Dumbledore smiled softly, "So you finally acknowledge the fact that your child is a boy."

"If you trust Sybil Trewlany," Lily said softly and kindly, but clearly unconvinced. "Then I do too." She sighed as she sat back in the chair. She propped her elbows against on her knees, and rested her forehead into her hands. She looked tired, worn out, and just so beaten down by everything.

Lily Potter, once Evans, was probably the last person on earth who deserved a death sentence like this. Dumbledore remembered Lily Evans distinctly from Hogwarts- an extremely kind, intelligent, talented, compassionate, lovely, likeable, and pure student. She did not deserve the pain that she got… but Fate sometimes hurts the ones who deserve it the least, so that everyone can experience pain once in his or her life.

Lily looked up and said one more time, with tears in her eyes, "Please tell me what I have to do to stop _him_ from hurting my family." She put her hands on his desk, clasped them together as if she were praying to him or God or whoever was up there at the current moment.

Dumbledore smiled softly, "Your kindness, compassion, and strength are commendable qualities; they will make you a wonderful mother, Lily." He placed a hand on her hands gently.

This simple skin-to-skin contact made Lily believe that there was hope. Like a small white dot now appeared in a room full of darkness, and it gave Lily faith that there was a chance.

"If it ever comes to that," Dumbledore went on with confidence in his words. "You, as a mother, will know what to do. With that love for that boy inside your body, you _will _know what must be done to ensure your son lives."

Lily took one hand back and wiped her tears quickly. "H-how do you know?" She asked. Her voice had not broken due to the crying, she maintained her composure for a young pregnant woman who was about to be sentenced to death by the darkest wizard alive.

"Like you trust me on Trewlany, you must trust me on this, Lily," Dumbledore insisted, giving Lily's hand a tight squeeze. "You will instinctually do what is right."

Lily, not truly understanding what he meant, simply nodded. She thanked him when he passed her a tissue to wipe her eyes. She took a deep shuddering breath and let it out slowly.

"Do you have a name that you've been thinking about?" Dumbledore asked casually as he looked back at his piece of parchment.

Lily let out a soft chuckle. "James and I have been thinking of a few, but the one that we like the most is… Harry."

Dumbledore looked up and simply smiled delighted by the name.

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**A/N- Drop a Review? 'Kay, thanks :D**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Ok, here's another chapter. Please Review and Enjoy :D

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_December 21__st__, 1976- Gryffindor Common Room: 8:12pm_

Lily Evans sat in the common room with Nina Hwang and Mary MacDonald, finishing up the last bit of studying for the Potions trimester final tomorrow morning. She was tapping her quill against her knee as she desperately tried to figure out all the ingredients to the "Hiccoughing Solution."

"Oh got it!" Lily smiled as she scribbled down the last ingredient.

"Oh, what is it?" Nina Hwang asked.

"The last one is Peppermint Roots," said Lily. She rolled her eyes at herself and murmured, "Can't believe I forgot that one."

"Finally," Nina said as she placed the quill down in her notebook. "Done."

Nina was positively undeniably gorgeous, but very shy with people she didn't know. She was of Korean descent with long wavy brown hair that reached her with large brown almond-shaped eyes. She was about 5'4, like Lily, and had a slim figure.

"I'm actually really glad that I'm not taking N.E.W.T potions," revealed Mary MacDonald, Nina's best friend.

Mary was a somewhat plain-looking girl, not ugly, just nothing special. She had blond pixie like hair with brown eyes. She was tiny, maybe stood at 5'1 and maybe a hundred pounds. She had a slim, almost boyish figure.

"I should probably tell Evie, she couldn't figure it out either," said Lily, looking around the common room for her. She then looked to the two girls and asked, "Have you seen her?"

Both the girls shook their head.

They both got up and walked over to the stairs to the door.

Lily looked towards the stairs and murmured to herself, "Maybe she's in the dorm-" She immediately stopped when Tyler Kane walked down the stairs, and Lily knew that Evie couldn't stand her "bitchy" ways, so there was no way she was up there alone with her. "Or not."

Tyler Kane was a sweet-looking girl. Pretty brown hair that reached to her shoulders with dark brown eyes, but very pale. She stood at 5'7 with a very thin body. However, despite her sweet looks, she was a bitch to say the least. She was very rude to everyone, always looking for people's faults, trying to make herself seem perfect.

"Tyler," Lily called out. "Have you seen Evie?"

Tyler shook her head and said harshly, "Why would I know where that skank is?"

Lily frowned at her and said, "You could've just said no; that works too, Kane." Ever since the fourth year, Lily stopped trying to be cordial with Tyler because she would always talk badly everyone, dissing them all the time. She just came with so much negative energy, and Lily didn't have the time or patience.

The door opened as Tyler was about to leave. "Oh… it's you," Tyler mumbled. "Do you ever get tired of wanking people off, Williams? I bet you aren't even that good at it."

After a moment, there was a simple scoff from a young woman. "That's not what your older brother said."

Tyler let out a sound of disgust while going out of the room as most of the kids in the Common Room let out a laugh.

Evie walked in and plopped down on the couch. She was rubbing her head as if she had a headache.

"That one worked pretty fast," commented Lily, sitting next to her best friend. "You should use it more often to make her go away."

Evie raised an eyebrow at Lily and said with a completely serious face, "Lily, I really slept with Kevin and he literally said that I was good."

Lily's face immediately contorted out of surprise. "What?! When?"

"Just now… or rather twenty minutes ago," revealed Evie as if she were talking about something as simple as the weather.

"Kevin Kane?" Lily asked curiously, placing her hands on either side of her face. "Seriously?"

"Yup," Evie said coolly as she lit a cigarette, walking over to the den where she usually smoked. She opened the window to the tower just a crack, not wanting to make the first years or other kids breathe it in. She sat down on the cushioned bench and let out a long breath of smoke.

Lily walked over to Evie and sat on the couch, facing her. "Was he good?"

Evie shrugged, "Not bad, not the best I've had."

Lily leaned and asked, "Where did you do it? McGonagall is getting better at catching people these days."

Evie smirked to herself, "Under the Quiddittch bleachers."

Lily grimaced, "Oh Merlin's Beard, that cannot be sanitary. And it's cold out, Evie! How was that even comfortable for you?"

"It actually was a lot cleaner than I had expected," revealed Evie, letting out another puff of smoke. "Warming charm... and it's not like your cold through the whole thing."

Lily let out a small gag. She shook her head and went on to another topic. "I should probably deduct points from you because this nasty habit you have, Evie," Lily pointed at her cigarette.

"Oh come off it," Evie said. "Then you should probably deduct points from all of the kids who have sex in the broom closets around school."

Lily shrugged, "Probably."

It was funny how the two most popular girls in Hogwarts were in the same year and house, and they were best friends.

What was even funnier was that they were complete opposites.

Lily Marie Evans was the perfect "good" girl of Hogwarts. She had lovely firey thick red hair that reached to the middle of her back that she normally kept down or in a low ponytail. She had a slender, yet lean body, and probably stood at 5'4. She had pale bright skin that complemented her emerald green eyes- her trademark that everyone knew her by. Adding to her sweet physical features, Lily was a sweetheart and pure girl: kind, compassionate, intelligent, passionate, funny, innocent, and yes, she was a prefect. Unlike most kids her age, she didn't sleep around casually, drink often, or smoke cigarettes.

Evelyn "Evie" Harrietta Williams was the "bad" girl of Hogwarts. She had thick black hair that reached to he shoulder blades that she normally kept in a bun. She was slender and lean, but noticeably bustier and curvier than Lily (especially in the chest area); she was about 5'5. She had tan skin in comparison to her bright electric blue eyes- her own trademark. Unlike Sweetheart Lily, Evie was the opposite- she wasn't a bitch though. She was just much colder, more indifferent, cruder, and ruder. However, she was still intelligent, and according to Lily, Evie was actually quite sweet if you got to know her. But, Evie does sleep around, drink, and smoke.

To put it simply, if you didn't think Lily Evans was your type, you'd think Evie Williams was. If you didn't think Evie Williams was your type, you'd think Lily Evans was.

But neither one acknowledged their popularity. Both were very humble and modest girls- that was the one characteristic that they both shared.

"Nice one, Prongs!"

The voice belonged to the infamous Sirius Black.

"Oh god," Lily murmured irritably as the sound of four boys laughing appeared in the common room, causing Evie to chuckle lowly, letting out another breath of smoke.

"Not without your help, Padfoot," laughed another voice that was probably even more annoying than Sirius'.

_James Potter_.

"Avery looked downright stupid," Sirius added as he sat on the couch.

Remus, probably the kindest of the Marauders, sat beside him and just shook his head. "I'm actually really glad I wasn't there for that- I would've been obligated to take off points."

"But you wouldn't do that to us would you, Moony?" James said as he put an arm around his friend's shoulder. He then got in his face and said, "You love us too much for that."

"Highly debatable," Remus said as he pushed his friend's face out of his own.

"I'm going to go upstairs," Lily murmured to Evie.

Evie nodded, "I'll be up in like three minutes-"

"Awe, Evans!" James shouted loudly. "How're you, Beautiful?"

This was what Lily wanted to prevent initially, being spotted by James. Ever since their 4th year, James would pester Lily to no ends- teasing her, hexing her, and the most annoying one by far: asking her out with no real feelings behind it. It was positively annoying.

"I was better," she said harshly, picking up her books from the floor, "Until you four showed up… well, you don't bother me, Lupin."

"The feeling is mutual, Evans," Remus said with a kind nod.

"What did I do…?" Peter Pettigrew asked softly.

"Look, Evans," James said as he got up. "I feel as though there is a tension between us."

"Well spotted," Lily said shortly and curtly.

James put a hand on her shoulder, ignoring Lily's disgusted look on her face as she looked towards the hand, "But I feel as if you and I were to have a moment, preferably on a date, we would have a truly better understanding of one another. So why don't you and I get together one time? Butterbeers and all, I'll be the perfect gentleman-"

Evie let out loud, but short laugh.

"Shut it, Williams," hissed James as he moved his hand off of Lily's shoulder.

"Oh no, please do go on," Evie smirked, letting out another puff of smoke out in an upward direction. "I need a good laugh."

"Haven't taken a look in the mirror lately, have you?" Sirius asked with a raised eyebrow, making James, Remus, and Peter laugh together.

"Darling," Evie said coolly as she threw the cigarette butt out the window, pointing her wand at it before it got out of sight and murmured, "_Evanesco._" She then looked back to Sirius and said, "I don't need to when I have you in the area."

Unlike Lily, Evie didn't hate the Marauders. She wouldn't call them her friends, but they found amusement in one another… especially her and Sirius.

"You should actually be studying," Lily pointed out to James, Sirius, Remus, and even Evie (poor Peter didn't get an E or O on his Potions O.W.L last year- an A though). "We have our N.E.W.T Potions trimester exam tomorrow. It counts for a large portion of the grade."

Evie rolled her eyes and said sarcastically, "Yes, Miss Prefect." Her and Lily walked up the stairs.

Once the two girls were completely out of range, Sirius leaned forward to his friends and asked eagerly, "Do you think Williams would go for me?"

This caused much laughter out of his friends.

"As much as James has a chance with Evans," smirked Remus, patting his two friends on the back.

James frowned, "I have a good chance with Evans if she ever lets her pride simmer down."

"Ok, whatever you say," Remus said as he got up. "But either way, Evans is right. We should study for that test, and since I know you aren't going to, I'm going up to the dorm. See you later."

"Goody-goody," Sirius mumbled as Remus walked off.

James looked to Sirius and Peter and asked, "Do I really have no chance with Evans?"

"The same chances I have with Williams," teased Sirius, causing James to push him. "Ok, ok, but honestly, I don't know. Evans doesn't really date nor does she hook-up with just anyone. She won't be like one of… _your _regular girls, James."

Yes, James was a player. He hooked-up with girls casually, but he always made sure the girl understood that he didn't want a relationship. He wasn't a relationship kind of a guy. Honestly, he was more like a "fuck'em, call it a day" sort-of guy. It worked for him.

But Evans was different. Every time he offered a date since the end of their fourth year, she would blatantly say "No." There was no wavering of her opinion. It was quite interesting how he managed not to get bored by this game of theirs.

"I know- but all girls say that," James retorted, making James shrug in agreement.

Through the night, James, Sirius, and Peter stayed up gossiping like teenage girls about… _teenage girls. _They liked to rate them, choose them, and list them. It was weird honestly, but it was whatever.

No matter how many girls James rated, Lily Evans always got a perfect 10.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Major Thanks to my reviewers and my followers- means a lot :) I don't own the characters except for some, it all goes to J.K Rowling. Please _**Review**__ and _Enjoy.

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_December 22nd, 1976- Great Hall: 08:13am_

At breakfast, Lily brought her potions notes with her. She studied them thoroughly as she ate some eggs, staring them down, hoping that she could remember absolutely everything.

"Your eyes are going to fall out," Evie said as she sat opposite from Lily.

"Shut up," Lily said shortly, still trying to make sure she understood all of the theories on Amortentia. (However, Slughorn briefly mentioned it in class and it was most likely not going to be on the test. Lily had to be sure she knew it just in case. She was thorough like that.)

"There is such a thing as over-studying, Lily," Evie pointed out as she drank some pumpkin juice.

Lily shot a glare at her and said, "We all can't have your photographic memory like you, _Evelyn_."

Evie smirked, "Feisty this morning."

Lily learned in their second year that Evie had a photographic memory. She had always been amused and interested in how Evie could do so well in her classes without trying at all. Apparently, she had read all of her older brothers' textbooks when she was a child, and almost never had to re-read the textbook. It was unfair.

"Amortentia," a deep male voice approached them. "_The strongest love potion in the world, which causes a powerful infatuation or obsession in the drinker-"_

Lily frowned as she faced the voice, which belonged to James Potter. Sirius, Remus, and Peter followed him.

"Morning, Sunshine," James smiled brightly as he sat next to Lily, tousling his hair casually.

"Go away, Potter," Lily growled as she went back to her studies. "I'm trying to concentrate."

"Evans, you don't need Amortentia," revealed James with a big smile. "You already know that more than half of the boys in school would do anything to get into your knickers."

This was news to Lily. The only boy that had ever asked her out was James, and did that even qualify? Curiously, Lily turned her head to James and asked, "Who?"

Sirius looked at her like she was truly stupid as he sat beside Evie with Peter beside him. "You're serious? You don't know about any of them?"

Lily shook her head honestly.

"Well, besides Jamesy that's to your right-"

"_Padfoot_," James growled. Remus laughed softly, sitting beside James.

Sirius went on as if he hadn't heard James, "Well, there is Derek Knox and Joshua Jensen in Hufflepuff from our year. Oh and let's not forget how popular you are with Ravenclaw's Richard Hendricks and Luke Walters. Then there are Slytherins who wouldn't deny that you got it in the looks department: Betram Aubrey and- the most vulgar of them all- Victor Mulciber. Then there are the younger ones like Dirk Creswell of Hufflepuff and Paul Saunders of Ravenclaw just to name a few."

Lily's eyes widened out of pure shock. That just couldn't be true. She wasn't that pretty in her eyes and her body wasn't anything special or noteworthy. Sure she had high marks, but who looked at those these days for a potential snogging candidate?

"Why…?" Lily asked softly, so no one would could hear.

"That's a bloody big list," laughed Evie as she took a bit of her bacon.

"Oh, and everyone that isn't apart of Team Evans," said Sirius, looking over to Evie, "is on Team Williams."

Evie rolled her eyes before she took a bite of her toast. "_Team Williams_, that's pathe- what'd you want?" Her voice dropped coolly as she looked up to someone behind Lily.

Lily, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter looked over to Evie's eye-line to see who she was talking to.

"So bloody rude all the time, Evie" murmured a deep low voice. "All the bloody time."

It was Danny Crenshaw, the Gryffindor Head Boy and Quidditch captain (a beater). He was a coffee-skinned, tall (6'2), muscular, handsome young man. He had a neatly shaved head with light brown eyes. He was quite the charmer at school. He also happened to be Evie's god-brother.

In a little less than three years, Danny Crenshaw would meet a lovely woman named Delilah Masters. Together, they would have a son named "Dean" that Danny would never meet in his lifetime.

"I'm eating," Evie said shortly, "Do you need something?"

Danny threw her a small box and said, "It's from my Mum."

Evie caught and immediately her eyes and smiled brightened. "Pre-Potions chocolates?!" She asked joyfully.

"Always," Danny smiled at her.

"Well done, Carly," smirked Evie as she opened the box (Carly was Danny's mother). She opened and popped one of the chocolates in her mouth. "Thanks, Dan."

Danny shrugged, "No problem. Oh, and here's your copy of the _Prophet_." He passed her the newspaper, which she thanked for him before walking away.

"She's only nice to him," Sirius said to the Marauders. "Weird. So mean, so mean," he added quickly. He then looked to Evie who was eating some more of the chocolates. "You're mean, you know that, Williams?"

"I'm aware," Evie said shortly, quite indifferently.

"But you're only nice to Crenshaw," said Sirius as if he were insinuating something, causing Evie to raise an eyebrow. "You have a thing for Crenshaw?"

Evie coughed on her chocolates and immediately shook her head. "God, no," she grimaced as she hit her chest to stop herself from coughing. "He's like my brother."

"Questionable," Sirius said as he rested his chin in the space between his thumb and index finger. He then pointed to the chocolates and said, "He gave you chocolates, and I believe he's on your Team, Williams."

"Gross," Evie shuddered, refusing to think of Danny in that way. She then lifted up her chocolates. "His mum did. It's tradition before any Potions final she passes us chocolate for good luck. Mind your own bloody business, Black."

Lily went back to her studying, still thinking about the numerous names that Sirius had belted out that was apparently on Team Evans. None of them had ever tried to flirt with Lily; they'd converse and compliment her at the most, but never flirt-

Wait, did that qualify as flirting? Complementing? Trying very hard to pursue small talk-?

"Blimey," Remus murmured as he picked up Evie's copy of the_ Daily Prophet. _"It's getting worse out there."

James looked over his shoulder and his eyes widened at the title.

_12 Muggles Dead in London_

Lily looked up and her face became pale just at the title. No, Lily was not stupid. She knew what was going in the outside wizarding world. She knew that Muggle-Borns were in danger. Death Eaters everywhere were trying to rid the world of Muggle-born witches and wizards. She knew the discrimination she got… even from old friends.

Lily turned around slightly to see the Slytherin table. There she saw Severus Snape laughing with Christopher Avery and Lucinda Talkalot. He must've felt her gaze because when he turned from the conversation to meet Lily's gaze.

Lily could tell that Severus was about to return the gaze, but she automatically went back to the conversation.

"… _in London at precisely midnight last night. It is said that there were a group of five Death Eaters, who were supposedly under the influence. While drinking, it is said that these said five Death Eaters released the Killing Curse wildly through a club, causing the death of 12 Muggles. None of these five Death Eaters are named nor seen, most likely due to their usage of the Memory Charm…" _Remus read aloud.

"Bloody Death Eaters," murmured Sirius as he took a bit of his eggs.

Evie took the newspaper and said, "All hiding under the so-called respect of Voldemort-"

Everyone at the table cringed at the name.

"Merlin, Williams," James muttered under his breath.

"What?" Evie asked coolly, flipping through the _Prophet_ as if she had not said that name.

"At least give us a little warning before you use _his _name like that," James scowled.

"What, Potter?" Evie asked, now clearly amused. "Afraid of name?"

"That's not what he was saying," Remus said, trying to tone down the anxiety of the conversation. "But don't deny the power that _he _has. You should be careful before simply using his name. Slytherin doesn't look twice before hexing and cursing the kids who use his name so freely."

Evie rolled her eyes and said, "It's pathetic that all of us hide under name. Is no one going to stand up to him and his followers because I'm damn well tired of the horror he is causing-"

"It's easy for you to say," Lily countered. "You're not a _mudblood_."

Now everyone including Evie cringed.

"Evans," murmured James. "Don't call yourself that."

"If we're going to be honest," said Lily as she shut her textbook, "I'm a mudblood-" the group cringed again "-and I'm proud of it. Now, the reason why I am afraid is that _You-Know-Who _is threatening, killing, and cursing people like me because of their blood heritage. Now, to be honest, none of you will understand what it is like to possibly hunted because of that-"

"Lily, I didn't mean it like that…" Evie said, honestly apologizing- a rare occasion on Evie's part.

"I know, don't worry," Lily said as she smiled at her friend. "But it's the truth of the matter and it's not like I'm being protected or have some sort of bodyguard-"

"Don't worry, Evans," James said, wrapping an arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him. "I'll be your personal bodyguard-"

"Oh just what I want," Lily said sarcastically as she pushed James off of her. "An arrogant _inconsiderate_ toerag as my bodyguard." She picked up her things and looked to Evie, "See you back at the dorm." She picked up a piece of toast and walked off.

"What'd I do?" James asked, confused this time. "She never just stalks off, normally there is some witty remark-"

Evie sighed as she took another bit of her toast and a sip of her juice. She picked up her things and said, "Because she _is _scared about this whole thing and poking fun at it is just plain rude, James." She walked past the boys and followed Lily out.

James looked to his friends and asked, "Did I do anything wrong? Honestly!"

"I mean, Evans is right," Remus said in her defense, which he often did. "We won't ever know what's it like being a muggle-born during these times-"

"You defend her a lot, Remus," James pointed out sternly. "You _like _Evans?"

"No," Remus said coolly and calmly. "But we prefects tend to look at for one another. And you have to admit, James, no matter what you say, you're a pure blood. It'll never the same for you, Mate."

James frowned at his friend and looked past him to watch Evans and Williams leave the Great Hall.

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_September 1__st__, 1971- Great Hall: 6:28pm_

Lily walked in the Great Hall, so amazed. She couldn't keep her eyes off the ceiling as she walked through the long line of tables. Well, it looked like there was no ceiling, and it was positively beautiful. It looked like the night sky with thousands of stars above.

"Wow," Lily breathed.

"It's cool, isn't it?" Sev asked, admiring it as well.

"It's gorgeous," Lily smiled, still looking.

The group of young to-be Hogwarts students stood in a huddled mass in front of the teacher's table. In front of the table stood Professor McGonagall with the Sorting Hat placed neatly on a stool.

"When I call your name," Professor McGonagall said sternly and seriously, holding the parchment with the list of student names, "you will sit on the on stool and then be sorted into your new house."

With that, she called out, "Adams, Harley."

A petite girl with curly brown hair and bright brown eyes walked forward. She clearly looked nervous as she sat down on the stool. McGonagall placed the Hat on her head for a long moment before the hat proceeded to shout.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

The table on the middle right began to holler and cat-call loudly. Adams ran down to the table and sat beside some 2nd year girl as they all clapped for her.

Three more names were called before Lily went up.

"Evans, Lily!"

With shaky legs, Lily walked up to the stool. She sat down and to be honest, expected some kind of pain when the hat touched her head. But it was just for a moment before the hat made its decision.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Lily smiled, and she was truly glad that it wasn't Slytherin; that House seemed the scariest and creepiest. She ran down to the table happily as she sat beside some boy her gave her space.

The boy looked awfully familiar from some place-

Lily turned her back when she realized it was one of the rude boys from the train who made fun of Sev. The boy must've realized too.

There were different kids who got sorted to different houses. Lily watched intently and frowned when the other boy with glasses from the train sat down on the stool. Without a moment of contemplation, the Hat shouted once more.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Lily rolled her eyes and sighed. She did this once more as he sat somewhat diagonal from her and winked.

Lily immediately looked over to the stool again, refusing to acknowledge the so-called James Potter.

"Hey, Potter," two older kids called out softly.

"Oh hi, Dylan," said James Potter, taking the older boy's hand and shaking it kindly like too old friends.

"Glad to see that you're joining the Red and Gold," the older boy said proudly. "The best of the best."

"No place I'd rather be," revealed James with a big bright smile.

Lily decided that they must've been family friends or something of the sort because they seemed quite friendly.

Now, the group of kids dwindled down to a simple four- two girls and two boys.

"Walters, Lucas!"

Lucas Walters was a boy with blond hair and a tiny fellow. He sat down on the stool, and McGonagall placed the hat on his head. After a moment of contemplation, the Hat shouted its decision.

"RAVENCLAW!"

Lily noticed that was the last Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, no more seats in either house. And Gryffindor needed one more girl.

McGonagall called out another name, "Williams, Evelyn!"

Lily noticed a pretty girl walk up. She had shoulder length wavy black hair, and even from her seat that was a decent distance from the stool, Lily could see how piercingly blue this girl's eyes were. She was very pretty.

The hat touched her head and it was long moment of contemplation. But the Hat made its decision nonetheless.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Four boys from Gryffindor stood on their seats, and Lily noticed that one of them was the older boy that Potter was talking to. The three other boys looked like brothers and had coffee-like skin with bright brown eyes.

Even the whole table clapped, these four boys were shouting and screaming for this one girl. The girl turned a deep pink and frowned at them.

"Mr. Williams! All three of the Crenshaws, sit down this instant!" McGonagall shouted harshly.

The man in the headmaster seat let out a laugh and said, "Don't worry about them, Professor McGonagall. They're just cheering on their god-sister and little sister."

McGonagall simply sighed, "… Yes, Professor Dumbledore."

The girl sat beside James and gave all four boys a harsh stare, causing the boys to send her kissy-faces.

The two other children were placed in Slytherin: Damian Yaxley and Olivia Zabini.

Lily was surprised when a bunch of food appeared on the table- it was the most magnificent feast she's ever seen. She, liked the rest of the students, took their food.

"Evie," one of the Crenshaw boys shouted. "You did well."

"Shut up, Danny," the girl said shortly as she placed some mashed potatoes on her plate.

"Oh come on, you know you love us," called out another one of the Crenshaws.

"Right now, not so much, Michael," hissed the girl.

"Hey guys, leave my baby sister alone," called out the boy with tan skin. "I'm the only one allowed to annoy her. Isn't that right, Evelyn?"

Lily noticed that girl looked around to make sure none of the teachers were looking in her direction. "Excuse me, Potter."

"No problem, Williams," the Potter boy said as he leaned back as if this were customary.

The girl threw a piece of chicken at her older brother. "Shut it, Dylan!"

Lily tried to suppress a laugh as _Dylan _wiped the piece of chicken off of his face. He then picked up an entire chicken bone and was about to fling at her, but McGonagall stopped him.

"Mr. Williams, throw that and you will have detention for the month!" McGonagall shouted loudly from the table.

Dylan looked at the piece of chicken and dropped it on his plate, clearly defeated, causing the first years to laugh at him.

"Causing trouble as always, Williams," snickered James Potter.

_Evie _turned to him and scoffed loudly. She then coughed, "Mr. I-think-I'm-the-funniest-person-in-the-world-with-my-pranks?"

James frowned, "It's good to see you again too, Williams."

"Pleasure," Evie smirked.

Lily began to laugh. Evie smiled at Lily, and at that moment, they knew they were going to be good friends.

* * *

_December 22__nd__, 1976- Great Hall: 11:23am_

"That was positively awful," groaned Nina as they walked into the Great Hall after their Potions trimester final.

"I could tutor you sometime, Hwang," Sirius said as he draped his arm around her shoulders.

"I'd like to actually pass my exams, Black," Nina said teasingly with a small smile.

"Ouch," Sirius smirked.

"Well, now at least we can relax," said Lily. "It was the last one of the week. The rest of today and tomorrow will be fairly relaxed."

"Hopefully," James added, popping out of nowhere.

"Ugh, go away, Potter," Lily said, quickly maneuvering past James' attempted hold of her.

"Come on, Evans," James shouted loudly, so that the whole Hall could hear. Everyone stopped what they were doing to watch. He bent down on one knee and said, "One date at Hogsmead, my sweet?"

Lily motioned for him to get up and said lowly, "Potter, don't."

With a quick wisp of his wand, James made a bouquet of flowers appear from outside. He probably used the summoning spell, and now in his hand was a large bouquet of red roses.

"One date?" James said brightly.

Now, see any girl at Hogwarts would immediately melt. Lily saw past this; she knew he was doing this for the attention. He didn't really like her; he liked the attention she brought him. Arrogant, self-cented, pig.

But before she could say anything to insult him and his pride, Evie did something wonderful.

"Oh those are for me, Potter?" Evie said, clearly sarcastic, as she came up behind him. She snatched the bouquet and walked past him and turned around to face him as he smelt them. "I do love Roses."

Agitated, James motioned, "They're actually for Evans."

"Lily, do you like Roses?" Evie asked without looking back at Lily, knowing she was smirking.

"Hate them," Lily smirked, enjoying this moment of humiliation for Potter.

"I'll keep them then," Evie said as she gave James a wink. She walked over to Lily and they walked down towards an open space at the table.

"That's cold, Williams," James shouted out over the laughter of the Marauders. "I thought we were closer than that. We've been friends for so many years and all."

Evie smirked, "And what a nice present to get your friend of 11 years." She took another whiff of the flowers again and smiled patronizingly at James.

"Annoying Bitch," James muttered angrily as Sirius placed a kind of somewhat-sympathetic hand on his shoulder.

"A _hot _annoying bitch, Mate," Sirius laughed. "That was pretty good one of her."

Lily laughed with Evie as they put food on their plate.

"You're brilliant," Lily laughed.

"I try," Evie laughed. She then pushed the roses further away and sighed, "But aren't you tired for rejecting him?"

Lily dropped her utensils dramatically and asked, "Are you serious?"

Evie shrugged, "I don't know. I mean, it's been almost two years since Potter's been doing this. Maybe he's genuine."

"And maybe he's doing it to get attention like he normally does," Lily countered.

Evie shrugged. "I'm just putting it out there, Lil… Potter is good-looking, though he's one of my oldest friends, intelligent, and he has funny moments too-"

"Evie," Lily whined. "He snogs girls, shags them, and dumps them like it's a job. Why would he actually like me? He only does it to mess with me."

"Maybe," She agreed. "Just putting out the other points for you, Lil."

Evie has known James since she was 5 actually. Their fathers would good friends, and as a result, Evie and James would sometimes hang out as young children. She knew him fairly well. But, that didn't compensate for him acting like a complete and utter douchebag.

But Lily looked at the Roses again. They were freshly picked, delicate, and smelled absolutely and positively lovely. She actually loved Roses.

* * *

**A/N- Dropping a review? You're too sweet :D**


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Hey everyone - here's another one. Please _**Review**_ and Enjoy!

* * *

_December 22__nd__, 1976- Great Hall: 09:45pm_

"Ok," said Marlene McKinnon, the Head Girl of Gryffindor. Marlene was a pretty girl with long corn-silk hair and dark blue eyes. She was tall, stood about 5'9, and had a very thin body. "I think we've covered everything we need to before the break."

"Yeah," agreed Danny, picking up his things. "You guys can go, thanks for coming."

Lily got up and followed Paul Pateron and Barbara Grayson (the fifth year prefects) towards the staircase, but hesitated when she saw Remus walk in the other direction.

"We do live the other way, Lupin," Lily called out to him.

Lupin turned around and said, "I'm going to meet up with someone."

"Oh who?" Lily asked out of pure innocent curiousity.

Lupin smirked, "Harley Adams."

Knowing what that meeting probably meant, Lily's face immediately blushed. She looked down towards the floor and apologized, "Oh god, I'm sorry- It's not my place to even ask-"

Laughing, Remus smiled, "Don't worry, Evans. It's fine. I'll see you later."

"O-Ok," Lily stammered, still blushing as she turned around to walk away. She felt so stupid- of course, Lily knew that students shagged everywhere; bloody hell, Evie did it all the time. But, why couldn't she take hints-

"I'll see you later, James."

Lily's head shot up at the loud high-pitched noise. By the stairs in the corner, Lily saw Holly Pratt. Holly was a Hufflepuff girl in the sixth year with pretty brown eyes and dark brown hair. She had light skin, but most notably a very high-squeaky voice.

"Bye, Holly," said James as he waved to Pratt. Once she was out of sight, he let out a sigh of relief. He wiped his lips and walked towards the stairs.

"So, out of ten," Lily said teasingly as she leaned against the banister of the stairs. "How was the snog, Potter?"

James looked up at her and smirked, "She wasn't bad… a decent 6."

Lily shook her head and asked, "Do you ever get tired of being yourself?"

He shook his head and said proudly, "No, why would I?"

"So it's fun messing with girls' emotions right and left? All the time?" Lily asked as James finally caught up with her.

"I don't _mess _with their emotions, Evans," James said sternly.

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" She asked, clearly not believing a word of what he said.

James pushed his hands into the trouser pockets of his pants and sighed, "Evans, Evans, Evans, you think so poorly of me." He then looked to her and ruffled her hair in that annoying, but quite attractive, way in which it made it look like he just got off a broomstick. "Girls know that I don't want a relationship with them. I'm just waiting for you, Evans."

Lily rolled her eyes and said, "Potter, you're really going to have to find another girl. I'm not going on a date with you. _Ever._"

James shrugged and said, "You keep saying that, but one day, the curiosity will make you give in. I'll be a perfect gentleman."

Lily let out a snort. "Do you even know what a gentleman is, Potter?"

James took a moment to think of this before saying, "Tall, black hair, hazel eyes, oh, I have a feeling that you are a glasses kind-of-girl." He let out a big smile and said, "Definitely a glasses kind-of-girl."

Lily scoffed, "You wish, Potter."

James and Lily reached the sixth floor and walked through the sixth floor to reach the Grand staircase. "One date, Evans," James said in a somewhat pleading tone. "It'll be fun-"

"I said _no_," Lily said sternly. "I'm not going on a date with you, so you might as well ask Holly Pratt."

"Pratt?" James asked incredulously. "No, she's a cute girl, but I'd never go on a date with her."

"That's make no sense," Lily sighed as she shook her head. "Hypocrite."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too."

This conversation proceeded as they walked through the halls. They turned the last corner before they would reach the Grand Staircase.

James shouted, "Evans! I'm not a hypocrite- Evans?" He became much more serious when Lily suddenly dropped her books and froze. James followed the gaze of her eyes and let out a sharp, "Bloody hell."

In the middle of wall, in big red letters that looked like blood, there was a message written on the wall that said:

_AS MUDBLOODS SUFFER THEIR DEMISE,_

_THE GREAT DARK LORD WILL RISE._

_BEWARE MUDBLOODS!_

"Oh my god," Lily whispered out of pure terror.

"Potter, Evans," Professor Slughorn called out. "What're are you two staring at- Merlin's Beard..."

James looked down at Lily, who looked absolutely terrified. Her skin became even paler, her body began to shake, and her eyes were wide. He bent down to pick up her notebook and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Evans, d-don't stare at it. Come on, let's go back to the dorm-"

"No no," said Slughorn. "You two must wait here with me. We must tell Dumbledore." He pulled out his wand from his robes and shouted, "_Expecto Patronum."_

James moved Lily back as both of them watched as a gray silvery mouse appeared from his wand. The mouse flew off to most likely tell Dumbledore of the news.

"Evans?" James asked placing both hands on her shoulders. Her eyes stared blankly at him- the trademark passion in her emerald green eyes had disappeared, like someone blew out a candle. For some odd reason, it made James' heart break.

"Lily…"

Lily blinked her eyes a few times and then she looked back up at James. She tried to formulate words, but before she could say anything more kids appeared.

"Oh my god!"

"Who did it?"

"What's going on?"

Lily took her notebook and said, "I'm all right, Potter." She pushed his hands off of him and went on in a soft, timid voice, "Thank you, but you can let go of me now."

Dumbledore, along with McGonagall, appeared. He frowned distinctly and said in a very serious tone, "Everyone to their common rooms this instant."

Children scurried to their dorms, including James and Lily.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Evans," Dumbledore called out as Lily and James turned around to face him, not really wanting to.

"Yes, Professor?" Lily and James asked in unison.

"Come to my office with me, please," said Dumbledore, beckoning them to follow. "Minerva, do follow."

James and lily exchanged worried glances.

James and Lily walked silently behind Dumbledore and McGonagall to the first floor. They reached the opening to the office where Dumbledore simply waved his wand and alas, the well-known ugly gargoyle moved aside.

They walked up the stairs and into his office. With a flick of his wand, Dumbledore summoned two seats for James and Lily. "Have a seat please? Would either of you like some tea? I feel like a nice Earl Gray would do me justice."

"No thank you," James said politely while Lily just shook her head.

"You, Professor?" Dumbledore asked.

"I'm fine, thank you," said McGonagall. She then looked to her two students and asked, "What were you two doing out?"

"I was walking back from the Prefect meeting," revealed Lily. "I met up with Potter walking up the stairs."

"And you, Mr. Potter?"

"I was with someone," James said softly.

"Who?" McGonagall asked with a frown.

"… Holly Pratt," James said with a mild flush running across his face.

Dumbledore let out a mild giggle. "So, you two were otherwise preoccupied before 8:30 this evening?"

"Professor, you think that _we _did this?" Lily asked in disbelief with wide eyes and her hand clutching her books.

"To be perfectly honest no, but it is customary for us to ask the people who were first at the scene of the crime," Dumbledore revealed calmly. His eyes moved over to Lily, who was clearly scared. Her knees were shaking and her brow was furrowed. She was scared with every right, Dumbledore decided.

"You two aren't children anymore," said Dumbledore as he sat down. "You know what is going on outside of these castle walls."

Both nodded.

"Don't let the hatred, the pain, and the terror outside of these walls ruin your time as young people. During this time, you are supposed to _fall in love_, laugh, make friends, make mistakes," smiled Dumbledore. "Don't let everything that is going outside frighten you out of it."

"Yes, Professor," James said.

Lily just gave a simple nod.

"And just know," Dumbledore said with a coy smile. "That there are people fighting back against Voldemort."

Lily, James, and McGonagall cringed at the name.

"_Albus,_" McGonagall groaned. "Please, a little discretion or less vulgarity."

Dumbledore shrugged as if he did nothing wrong. "I've done nothing, but say a name of a coward. And Minerva, you say that you're part of the Order, and yet you can't even say his name."

"_Albus,_" McGonagall scolded in a low voice. "The children."

"They aren't children though," revealed Dumbledore. "Miss Evans will be turning of age in a month, and Mr. Potter in three or so-"

"Sir?" James asked, interrupting them. "What is the _Order_?"

Dumbledore sat back in his chair and interlaced his fingers comfortably. He then rested his chin on top of them and smiled slowly. "The full name is the Order of the Phoenix."

"What do they do?" Lily asked curiously.

Dumbledore smiled and said simply, "Well, we do what we can to fight against the Death Eaters-"

"_We?_" James asked curiously.

"I created the Order three years ago, Mr. Potter," smiled Dumbledore.

James felt like hitting himself. Of course, Dumbledore would create the Order of the Phoenix. There was practically no point in asking.

Dumbledore then leaned forward and shrugged, "It's not an easy job, but maybe once you both graduate from Hogwarts, it might be in your futures to join. I see both of you are doing fairly well in all of your N.E.W.T classes-"

"Albus, we are not employing them into the Order," said McGonagall as she placed a sturdy hand on both of their shoulders. "They are not of age and they are just sixth-years. Not after tonight's ordeal."

Lily didn't want that. She looked to Professor McGonagall and objected loudly, "Wait, Professor, I'd like to hear more-"

"Professor McGonagall is right, Miss Evans," said Dumbledore with a slow nod. "Maybe another night that you two manage to get yourselves in trouble. It is also late, you two should head back to your dorms."

The two Gryffindor students nodded in defeat. They turned around towards the door before Dumbledore called out to them again.

"Also, Mr. Potter, Miss Evans?"

Both turned around to face their Headmaster.

"I'd prefer if you not mention the existence of the Order to the other students," said Dumbledore. "It's easier if we maintain discretion."

The two students nodded before they left and said good night.

Once they completely left the office, James let out a sigh of happiness. "The Order of the Phoenix? Wow…"

Lily nodded, "I know."

They walked back to the Gryffindor corridor, discussing the different possibilities of what could have gone on in the Order meetings. What they did, how they did it, and who was apart.

Before they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, Lily stopped their conversation midway. She pulled on James' sleeve and brought him to a stop.

"What's a matter, Evans?" James asked curiously.

She looked a bit embarrassed and said, "Do me a favor, Potter."

James simply raised an eyebrow.

"Don't tell anyone my reaction to the… _warning _on the sixth floor," Lily said in a bit wearily.

"Why?" James asked. "I won't, but why?"

"It's just easier that way for me," Lily said before she walked past him. She then said to the Fat Lady, "_Fish 'N Chips." _

The Fat Lady smiled as she opened the door. Lily walked into the common room, which was empty, with James following.

It was later than she had expected. It was 10:30 now. She walked up the stairs and before she walked towards the stairs of girls' dormitories, James stopped her and said something interesting.

"You don't need to hide your feelings, Evans."

Lily raised an eyebrow and asked, "What'd you mean?"

"I see it in your eyes," James said kindly. "You're strong and you're good at making people believe that, but you hide a lot of your problems from others, probably even Evie. But, you shouldn't. Don't let it fester inside of you; it's not healthy."

He sounded… genuine. The first time in five and half years, James Potter sounded genuine. It sounded like he said it from the heart and not just some bullshit he normally spewed to get girls into bed with him. No, he sounded like he meant every single word of it.

Not knowing what else to say, Lily said with soft voice, "Ok."

"Now," James said in a less serious voice, pushing his shoulders back, flashing the famous Potter-grin. "How about that date?"

"You're incorrigible!" Lily shouted in disbelief. "Good night, Potter!" Lily shouted, still in disbelief as she ran back to the stairs of the girls' dormitories.

_Still… he sounded sweet before he asked me on that date, _Lily thought with a small smile before opening the door to the fifth-year girl dorms.

* * *

**A/N - Spread the love and the reviews. :D**


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Here's another one! Please _**Review**_ and Enjoy!

Reviews do mean a lot to me, just saying :D

* * *

_December 23__rd__, 1976- Hogwarts Express: 03:53pm_

In approximately seven minutes, they would be arriving back at the Kings' Cross Station for the winter holiday. So, Lily scurried back to the Prefect's carriage after spending most of the time with Evie, Nina, and Mary, and then patrolling.

Passing kids towards the front of the train, Lily walked through the carriage. She made it to the second carriage, and she nearly got hit by the carriage door.

It was a group of four Slytherin boys- sixth year Slytherin boys led by Severus Snape.

Snape stood there for a moment frozen. For the past year, Lily and Snape were really good at ignoring each other. To Lily, Snape was invisible; he was non-existent.

Lily gulped back and tried to walk past the Slytherin boys, but Mulciber stopped her.

Anthony Mulciber was a fairly good-looking, but his attitude took his good-looks away. He had shaggy brown hair with dark gray eyes. He was about 5'10, and had a very muscular build- almost like a weight lifter.

"Mudblood Evans," Mulciber said in a disgusted tone. "Where're you going?"

"The prefect carriage," she said simply in a equally disgusted tone as Mucliber's, trying to get past them once again, but Avery got in her way.

"Oh is it now?" Christopher Avery asked. Avery was a shorter young man with blond hair and brown eyes. "You should watch your tone, Mudblood-"

"I _will_ tell Slughorn if you don't get out of my way," Lily warned.

"Prefect Lily Evans," mocked Damian Yaxley, a tall yet chubby sixth year. He then smirked, "He won't have to know-"

"Oi," a female voice shouted.

"Oh Williams," Bertram Aubrey groaned. He had short black hair with dark black eyes with pale skin and a long nose. He wasn't the most attractive thing in the world, or anything close to it in Lily's opinion.

"Get out of her way," insisted Evie as she crossed her arms. She was zipping up the fly to her jeans that she was now wearing and tying her hair back into a knot.

"Or what?" Aubrey asked.

"Lily might tell Slughorn who might not believe her or do anything about it," Evie said in a very nonchalant tone. "But I'll tell Gryffindor Head Boy, Danny Crenshaw, who could most definitely put you lot in detention the moment you get back to school." She gave them a wink and then said, "So move out of her bloody way, Snape."

The train was slowing down and Evie smiled, "Merry Christmas boys," causing all the boys to mumble curses under their breath such as "Skank," "Cunt," and "Bitch." They weren't very creative or anything, but it clearly got the message across. Not like Evie cared to look back and acknowledge it anyway.

While the boys cursed out Evie, Snape looked at Lily. He quickly moved himself aside for her to proceed, evidently wanting to avoid an awkward conversation.

Lily turned around and smiled kindly at Evie. Out of the same compartment that Evie originally came out of, Kevin Kane came out as well. He looked extremely happy, like there was a glow around him.

_Oh they definitely just shagged… _Lily laughed internally before giving her best friend a wink.

Evie always managed to stick up for Lily at one point. That's what best friends did. She always has.

* * *

_June 15__th__, 1976- The Black Lake: 03:45pm_

"I don't need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!"

_Mudbloods, _the word rung in Lily's head like an alarm. She felt it hurt in her chest, like flames engulfed her somehow. She… almost wanted to cry because it was Sev saying those words… not Mulciber, Avery, Aubrey, or even fellow prefect Yaxley, but her friend: _Snape._

"Fine," Lily said as coolly as she possibly can. "I won't bother in future. And I'd wash your pants if I were you, _Snivellus_."

It didn't feel right, using that name on Snape. She had always stood up for Snape against the kids who called him that, even the Marauders. She would even take point from them- but not this time.

"Apologize to Evans!" James roared at Snape, his wand was pointing dangerously at him.

"I don't want _you _to make him apologize," Lily shouted, knowing that it would mean nothing if James made him. Especially him. "You're as bad as he is…"

"What?" James yelped, pitifully. "I'd NEVER call you a- you-know-what!"

Lily couldn't take it anymore. "Messing up your hair because you think it loos cool to look like you've just got off your broomstick, showing off with that stupid Snitch, walking down corridors and hexing anyone who annoys you just because you can – I'm surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head on it. You make me SICK."

Feeling her eyes begin to water, Lily turned herself around and walked as quickly as she could away.

"Evans!" James called out. "Hey, EVANS!"

Without looking back, Lily kept walking. She ran back to the castle, to the Gryffindor common room, and up to the dormitory. She opened the door and let out a small, quiet sob.

"What's up, Li- Merlin, are you all right?" It was Evie.

She had a cigarette in her hand with the window wide open.

"Why're all boys so… so stupid!" Lily shouted as she ran to her bed, pressing her face against the pillow.

Evie put out her cigarette and walked over to Lily. She sat at the end of the bed and asked softly, "What happened?"

Lily wiped her tears away and said, "S-Severus called me a… _M-Mudblood_."

Evie closed her eye at the word. Unlike the other girls in Gryffindor or the school for that matter, Evie never _hated _Severus. She never understood why Lily was such a good friend of Severus, but no, she never hated him. When the Marauders would bully him, Evie would tell them stop, but Lily was the one who told them to act upon it. Evie just didn't care for Snape.

"I defended him for years now!" Lily shouted angrily. "I defended him against the students, Potter and his lot, and everyone. This is what I get in return?! How dare he!"

Evie patted Lily's shoulder lightly. "It's the time of the Death Eaters – Snape might've made… his choice."

Lily looked at Evie, confused and surprised by her words.

"I'm not saying that Snape is a Death Eater, but it's just he's been acting very strange lately, more than usual. He's been more involved with Mulciber and Avery these days too. They hexed Mary a couple months ago because she's a muggle-born. It's your choice, Lily, but that would be the last straw for me. No one should ever be called that"

* * *

_December 23__rd__, 1976 – Kings Cross' Station: 04:07pm_

Lily and Evie waited together; Evie promised she'd wait with Lily for her dad to come and pick her up.

"So what're you doing for the holidays?" Lily asked Evie as she buttoned up her jacket.

Evie shrugged, "I don't know actually-"

"She's coming over to my place for some quality time, isn't that right, Williams?" Sirius asked as he walked over and placed an arm around her shoulder.

"Don't you mean, if anything, Potter's place," Evie said as she shrugged off the arm with disgust.

"Well, it's actually just going to be Sirius and me," revealed James as he and Remus approached the two girls. "Mum and Dad got invited to some fancy party in Cambridge with a secret wizard family there."

"Cambridge?" Lily asked excitedly. "That's twenty minutes away from my town!"

"Really?" James asked. "Where do you live?"

"Cokeworth," explained Lily. "It's significantly smaller though-"

"Lily!" A loud older male voice shouted.

All four of them turned to see a man waving to them. He was in a work shirt, dark gray trousers, and a large beige trench coat. He had dirty blond hair and light skin.

"Is that your dad?" James asked curiously.

"How'd you know?" Lily asked calmly as she waved back to her dad. She cringed when she saw her elder sister get out of the car as well.

"The eyes," James murmured.

Before Lily had time to react to that last statement, Evie asked a question: "And is that the infamous Petunia?"

"Unfortunately," Lily groaned. She motioned for her dad to come over. He did and gave his youngest daughter a hug.

"Dad" Lily said kindly. "This my friend, Evelyn Williams."

Evie smiled and shook Lily's father's hand, "Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Evans."

"Likewise, Evelyn," said Mr. Evans.

"And these are three of my… _housemates_, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and James Potter," revealed Lily. "This is my dad, Ethan Evans."

Sirius and James both shook Mr. Evans' hand firmly.

As if a little light blub fluttered in Mr. Evans' mind, he looked to his daughter. "Is this the famous, James Potter, that I always hear you speaking of?"

James couldn't help, but smile.

Evie, Remus, and Sirius exchanged glances with a smirk.

"Dad," Lily said in a scolding and embarrassed tone.

"Oh, sorry, right," Mr. Evans said in apologetic tone. He then looked over to the kids and asked Evie first, "So, Evelyn, what're you doing for the Christmas dinner? Family, I assume?"

Evie shook her head with a small smile. "It's probably going to be me cooking for myself actually," Evie said casually; this surprised Lily, James, Remus, and Sirius.

"Oh why?" Mr. Evans asked kindly.

"My older brother is working in Paris, and my dad is… out of the country for work, Bulgaria at the moment, I believe," revealed Evie. With a shrug, Evie said, "So, I'm probably spending Christmas alone."

"Oh then you must come over," Mr. Evans said with a kind smile. Lily was surprised by this invitation, but definitely pleased. "Every year, the Mrs. And I throw a small Christmas dinner party at our house in Cokeworth. You should come."

"Oh, I really don't want to intrude," said Evie, putting her hands up as a motion of 'it's ok.'

"No, no," Lily said putting her hands on Evie's shoulders. "You should come. It'll be loads of fun. You should really come, Evie"

Evie flushed a little and then nodded, "If it's really ok with you."

"It'll be delightful," smiled Mr. Evans. "And you three, what're you doing on Christmas?"

"I'm probably going to spend it with James and Sirius," revealed Remus with a small smile. "My parents can't be home for the holiday…"

"Oh I see, so what will you three young men be doing that evening?" Mr. Evans kindly.

"Well, I'm currently staying with James this year," Sirius revealed. "So what ever goes with his family, I'll be glad to participate in."

"My parents are actually going to a dinner party in Cambridge," said James. "So, I guess, Sirius, Remus, and I would be spending at my place alone…"

Much to Lily's surprise, James could manage to hold a conversation without sounding like a complete and utter git that he normally did. He actually sounded like a decent human being-

"Come by as well then," Mr. Evans said. "Could they drop you off?"

"Absolutely," smiled James, probably concocting a number of ways to freak out Lily's parents at the party.

_NO. _A voice shouted in Lily's head. She looked hesitantly at her father and then the two boys as well. She saw their three mischievous grins and knew that automatically meant trouble.

"If it's no hassle for you," said James in a charming tone, but Lily could tell that was a cover. "We'd love to join, wouldn't we, Sirius? Remus?"

"Absolutely," the two others said together.

"Ok," smiled Mr. Evans, absolutely delighted. "So, our house number is number 31 Cloth Street in Cokeworth. The party starts at 6 or so, but whenever you come is truly fine." He then looked to his daughter with a big smile, "Your mother is going to be delighted. She's always wanted to meet some of your school friends."

Lily nodded, looking back towards Petunia. She was tapping her foot impatiently with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Ok, well," Mr. Evans put a hand out to shake each one of their hands. He then said, "I will see you then. Lily, I'm going to start up the car. See bye to your friends."

Mr. Evans tittered away.

Once he was out of an ear shot, Lily turned to the Marauders and said, "You screw this up, I swear to Merlin's beard, that I will smack each one of you with hex you to no ends!"

"Awe come on, Evans, you should think better of us!" Sirius said with a big smile.

"It's a dinner party, so we won't go ballistic," revealed James with a big smile. He then patted her lightly on the shoulder, "Don't worry, I'll be nice to my future in-laws."

Evie, Sirius, and Remus let out loud laughs as Lily let out a groan of frustration.

"Ugh, I'll see all of you on Christmas," groaned Lily as she stalked away.

The ride back to Cokeworth was an hour drive north west of London. Cokeworth was a somewhat rugged town; the constantly foggy weather didn't help much either. The town had small brown houses along the street right next to each other. 31 Cokeworth was in the middle of living area of Cokeworth.

Mr. Evans parked the car in their garage as Petunia went on with her awfully long, tedious, and annoying rant.

"… And they must be on their best behavior because I might bring Vernon towards the end after our date. He hates _magic _as much as I do, so no funny business or else, I will personally kick their arses out-"

"Petunia!" Mr. Evans scolded.

"I'm just saying," Petunia said in a snooty-voice as she got out of the car.

Lily rolled her eyes and took out her suitcase. She walked out of the car and into the front door. The house was the same, just as she left in September.

When you first walked in, there were three options: stairs on right, living room to the left, and dinning room was straight. She picked up her suitcase and walked to her room. She left her luggage by the door before going into the last room at the end: her parent's room.

Lily quietly walked over to her Mum's room. She knocked on the door and waited for a response.

"Oh," said a very weak, yet kind voice. "Lily, is that you?"

Lily opened the door to see her mother in her bed. She almost gasped at the sight.

Her mother's condition had gotten worse. For the last year, Mrs. Natalie Evans was diagnosed terminally ill; the same way her father was going. She was dying, and honestly, she didn't have that much time left on her hands. At this moment, maybe five months left at the maximum.

Mrs. Evans was once a very gorgeous young woman. She had red hair like her daughter that reached her shoulders with light skin. Her eyes resembled her eldest daughter – they were pale and unwavering. But, the sickness did her some damage. Her fire red hair was going out and becoming significantly more gray. Despite being only 42, she had wrinkles and looked very tired.

"Darling, come here and say hello to you Mum," said Mrs. Evans as she sat straighter in her bed. She beckoned her daughter to come closer.

Lily ran to her mother and gave her a light squeeze. She then sat beside her mother.

"Dad invited friends to the party," smiled Lily.

"Oh did he?" Mrs. Evans asked sweetly. "Who?"

"My best friend, Evelyn Williams," revealed Lily. "You'll love her." She then thought about the three boys and said, "And Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and James Potter-"

"Oh, so I finally get to meet the boy who has consistently tried to ask my daughter on a date," smirked Mrs. Evans.

"Mum," Lily sighed with a small smile.

"So, did you finally yes to the bloke?" Mrs. Evans asked teasingly.

Lily shook her head immediately. "No, he's an arrogant toerag-"

"Well, he must've been decent enough for your father to invite him," Mrs. Evans pointed out before coughing lightly into a hankie. "Because your father is very good judgment of character, Lily."

Lily rolled her eyes and began to twiddle her thumbs as she went on, "James Potter knows how to charm and hide his true inner workings as a prat."

Mrs. Evans laughed, "You know, I thought your father was the biggest arse in the world before I began dating him-"

"Oh god," Lily said as she rolled her eyes. "Mum, I'm _not _going to go out with James Potter-"

"Just hear me out," said Mrs. Evans as she placed a hand on her daughter's knee. "Your father was not just a toerag, but _the _toerag. He pulled pranks on everyone in sight, smoked too much, drank too much, and had too much sex. Lord only knows how he doesn't have some sort of disease-"

"MUM!"

"Sorry, sorry," Mrs. Evans laughed. She then shook her head and said, "But something happened. He changed in the course of a month that I travelled to Paris. He matured and I fell for him."

Lily looked at her mother, unamused. Of course, she was happy that her mother and father in the end got together, but she wasn't going to suddenly fall for James Potter – the arrogant prick. James Potter would just never grow up and it was as simple as that.

"Lily," said Mrs. Evans as she smiled at her daughter. "Don't let your brain override your heart and allow it to discriminate against those whom you could possibly love, Darling."

Lily didn't understand what she meant now, but she simply said, "Ok, Mum."


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Thank you to the reviews, follows, and favorites. They mean a lot to me :D Keep it up (Yes, I do have some recognition issues - awks) THANKS!

To BlueJeanMistress- Thanks for the review, but I'm not entirely sure how long the story is going to be. I'm still currently writing it - In a perfect world, I'd like to make this go until their death. But, again, who really knows what pop up into my mind.

THANKS EVERYONE.

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_December 25__th__, 1976 – Potter's Cottage: 06:21pm_

"James! Sirius! We're leaving soon, we don't want to be late to our parties!"

James was in his room, straightening his tie in the mirror. He was trying to look good, maybe surprise the living shit out of Lily. He wanted to prove to her that he could do charming without being a prick. That he could make her go weak on her knees with just one look.

"It's not me, Mrs. Potter," called out Sirius from the guest room. "Your son is acting like a teenage girl on her first date."

James grabbed his suit jacket and walked out of his room. He straightened his tie one more time absentmindedly. "Oi, Sirius, how'd I look?"

Sirius turned around and his eyes widened. Approvingly, Sirius nodded his head. "How unlucky for me, I'm straight… But you didn't do so badly – you look actually quite decent."

James smirked.

Yes, James did look good. Actually _really _good. His messy black hair was combed neatly, parted to the left, and gelled to perfection. He wore a white button down shirt with a dark emerald green tie. He had a black suit jacket that matched his satin black slacks.

"You think Evans'll think the same way?" James asked once more, fixing his tie again.

"She's lesbian otherwise," smiled Sirius, patting his friend on the shoulder.

Sirius looked very nice as well. He wore a black vest over a white shirt with a dark red tie. Like James, he wore black slacks and nice shoes. But his new hair do was the most notable thing.

To forget and push past his family's desires for him, Sirius decided to cut his long hair. He cut it short, cropped even. It looked very good and perfectly quaffed actually. It was a very new do for the young man, one his mother never allowed because she wanted him to look like his grandfather or some bullshit she spewed to him in his life. He wanted a change to say the least.

"You look good too, Padfoot," James smiled as they walked down the stairs, grabbing the small bouquet of flowers that they would bring to the Evans' household.

Mrs. Audrey Potter was an older woman with dark, fading black hair – she currently had it in a small knot at the back of her head. She had light skin with dark brown eyes. She was shorter than any of the boys in the house, abut 5'6, and had a small thin frame. She was currently wearing a long black skirt and a lovely maroon blouse. She was putting on her jacket.

"Oh don't you two look positively lovely," smiled Mrs. Potter.

"We try," Sirius said cockily, but in a teasing tone.

"You too, Mum," revealed James as he kissed his mother's cheek. Mrs. Potter patted her son's head fondly before nearly shrieking when she looked at the old grandfather clock. They were going to be late, and Mrs. Potter just wouldn't have it.

"Robert Potter!" Mrs. Potter shouted towards the upstairs area as she grabbed the banister of the staircase. "I will not have my son be late to this young woman's party because you cannot pull it together! Nor will I allow us to be late! Let's go!"

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" Mr. Potter shouted, rounding the second floor corner. "Bloody hell woman, you don't need to shout at me all the time."

Sirius chuckled quietly as James merely shook his head.

Mr. Robert Potter was an older man (most likely the same age as the Mrs.), though it is easy to tell that he was once very good-looking, with sandy brown hair with hints of gray. At the current moment, he had it slicked back in a very cool James Bond-like fashion. He had light skin and hazel brown eyes like his son. He was maybe an inch shorter than his own son, who most likely stood at 5'11. He was wearing nice dress robes and holding his fedora.

"The fedora?" Mrs. Potter asked annoyed, pointing at the hat. "That's what took you so long? A hat?"

"I had to pick the right one for the occasion," said Mr. Potter, defensively. "See, it matches with my shoes, Audrey," Mr. Potter smiled brightly. He showed how the satin cloth that covered the circumference of the hat, which was navy, like a part of his shoes.

Mrs. Potter rolled her eyes. She then turned to the boys and said, "Boys, put on your jacket. Maybe if we start moving, Mr. Potter will eventually join us sometime in the future, maybe today."

The marriage between Mr. and Mrs. Potter was healthy and long-lasting, according to James. They fought over little things like this occasionally, but it never lasted more than five minutes. They were very happy together.

James slipped on his jacket, as did Sirius, and walked outside of his house. It was chilly, maybe in the late 30's or early 40's, but luckily, there was no wind, which made the weather nicer.

Mr. and Mrs. Potter walked outside.

"Now, James," Mr. Potter asked as he placed his fedora on his head squarely after locking the door behind him, "the address one more time?"

"31 Cloth Street in Cokeworth," James said, a bit too quickly. Sirius raised an eyebrow at him with a mild smirk.

"Ok, Sirius, you're with me," revealed Mr. Potter. "James, go with your mother. Outside of Cokeworth, Audrey? That alley by that hotel?"

"What alley?... Oh, sure," Mrs. Potter said taking her son's hand.

Within that moment, James felt a curious sensation as if he were twirling. The scenery of his cottage disappeared and all of a sudden, they were in a dark alley. It was snowing very lightly in this part of England. The sky was smoky and dark.

Beside him, there was a pop, and his father and best friend appeared. Mr. Potter and Sirius stumbled for a moment, but quickly caught their balance.

"So, I reckon that you two can work it out in finding the exact house," Mr. Potter said.

The two boys nodded.

"Ok, we'll come and fetch you around 11 or so," Mrs. Potter said, kissing each one of them on the cheek. She then wagged a finger at them and said, "Don't cause any mischievous. I'd like to meet this _Lily Evans _without having to apologize to her on your behalves, understood?"

Sirius simply grinned like the Cheshire cat as James said overly-innocently, "Of course, Mum."

Mrs. Potter sighed heavily. "Come on, Robert. Let's go. Have fun, Boys," She then apparted away.

"Don't get into trouble boys, but do have fun," smiled Mr. Potter before apparting away.

"Not going to happen, is it?" Sirius asked with a big smile.

"In the traditional sense, we won't cause any trouble," revealed James with a smirk, "but something fun will happen, as always. Don't worry, my dear Padfoot, it'll be an enjoyable night to say the least."

They walked through the downtown area of Cokeworth. It was a well-furnished town with an eclectic range of shops, restaurants, pubs, and even a primary school, _Cokeworth Primary School_.

In the back of James' head, he noted that Lily probably attended school there before realizing that she was in-fact a witch.

They then reached the living-area of Cokeworth, and made their way over to Cloth Street. Realizing that the odd numbers were on the left side of the street, James and Sirius crossed the street and noticed the house they were probably attending.

The house, like a good deal of others, had Christmas lights decorating the front with a few different cars in front and in the driveway. James wondered if it was magic, but he remembered that Muggles used something called… _elektrity… _no, _electricity _to create light or something.

"It changes colors…?" Sirius asked curiously. "The Muggle textbooks do Muggle inventions absolutely no justice – this actually looks kind of… cool."

"Yeah," James agreed as he walked to the foot of the driveway. They walked on the stone path to the front door and walked to the front door. He brushed the flowers quickly to get all of the snow flurries off. Taking a deep breath, James pushed the buzzer, creating a loud _ding-dong _that made both James and Sirius jump.

After a few moments, the door opened to a young woman.

"Hello," said the woman. She had red hair, a lighter shade than Lily's, and dark blue eyes. She was a pretty thing, maybe in her early twenties, and wore a gray top with a black pencil skirt. "How may I help you?" She asked somewhat coldly, looking at them both appraisingly.

James cleared his throat; of course, James finally became cold in that moment. "I'm James Potter, and this is Sirius Black, we are friends of Lily Evans."

"Oh!" The woman said. She opened the door wider. "Your Lil's school friends! Terribly sorry, I'm Lily's cousin: Karen Hadley. No wonder I didn't recognize you."

"It's fine," said Sirius, shaking her hand. He was so clearly working the famous _Sirius Black _charm.

"Pleasure," James said kindly as he shook her hand as well.

There was a plethora of people at the party, not just family, but a lot of friends of the family as well in different silks, cloths, and materials. The light voice of Nat King Cole was in the background, surrounding the air. The smell of delicious invigorated the air as well.

James looked through the crowd to find Lily, but she was nowhere to be found. "These are for the Evans," James said kindly.

"Oh how lovely," Karen smiled. She then looked at the flowers and giggled when she realized they were light pink _lilies_. "Oh cute…Where is that girl anyways- oh there she goes, poor girl is working so hard- Oi, Lily! Two of your friends just arrived!"

James spotted the back of Lily's head move towards them. He mentally prepared himself to charm the shit out of her. He straightened his tie once more before looking up to give her the famous Potter smile-

James' jaw dropped immediately when he saw Lily approach them.

She looked… _beautiful._

Lily looked positively, undeniably, absolutely beautiful. It was effortless on her as she practically glided to them. She had her fiery red hair styled perfectly on the sides while her side bangs were pulled straight back, showing off her beautiful face. Her make-up was there, but in a very natural way. She wore a light pink shade of lipstick only a little darker than the rouge on her cheekbones. She wore a bit of green eye shadow, black eyeliner, and mascara to match.

Now, moving onto her outfit. She wore a black long sleeved dress that hugged her body tightly, almost like a second layer of skin. The sleeves were 3/4 and lacy in comparison to the rest of the dress. There was a deep red thin leather belt that wrapped around her lean waist. The collar of the dress was high, so no cleavage was shown, but there was a lot of leg to compensate. Lily was thin, but who knew that she actually had curves like this. At school, she normally wore sweaters and loose jeans or leggings. She wore tall black pumps as well. Around her neck was a small chain with a cross on it that James had never seen before.

"_James,_" whispered Sirius as a way to wake James out of his trance.

"Potter! Black!" Lily smiled, unusually kind to them. "Nice hair cut, Black… Glad to see you made it." Like she did with every other guest James presumed, Lily gave a small friendly hug to Sirius and then him. But still for some odd reason, his stomach clenched at the feeling of her body touching his.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," smiled Sirius. He then looked to his truly dumbfounded friend and elbowed his friend.

"Right… glad to be here," said James awkwardly as he coughed into a closed fist.

Lily gave him a look. "You okay, Potter?"

James frowned. "Of course, I am."

Lily shrugged, "You seem a little flustered, that's all."

James deepened his frown and said sternly, "I'm fine, Evans."

"Whatever you say," Lily said. She looked to Sirius and said, "Come on, let's get you some drinks." Karen passed her the flowers, and Lily smirked at the sight. "You think you're clever, Potter. Real clever, don't you?"

For the first time since he's arrived, he said something James-like. "What're you talking about, I _am _clever."

They walked past groups of people and made their way to the kitchen. Lily offered them some coke, which they both agreed to. Lily poured some and asked casually, "So, did you guys make it here all right?"

"Yeah, James' parents apparated us here before the party," Sirius explained, thanking her for the coke afterwards.

"What time are they picking you up?" Lily asked, passing one to James, by accidently brushing her hand against his. James shuddered at the touch of her soft skin.

"Already want us out?" James asked, trying to sound more like his usual cool, calm, and collected self than the flustering bimbo he sounded like one minute ago.

"No, no," Lily said briskly. "Just wondering."

"11 or so," James answered before taking a sip. Lily nodded casually, now powering one for herself.

"Oh by the way, Evans," Sirius said leaning into Evans more closely. "You're cousin… _Karen, _is majorly hot."

Lily rolled her eyes. She leaned forward into his ear and whispered, "She's 24 with a ring on her finger, Black. The blond bloke in the gray suit is her husband."

Both Sirius and James looked over to see Karen with the blond bloke. He was very handsome to say the least and looked quite charming. And yes, Karen had a gold ring on her finger with a small diamond on top. She was holding his hand with a glass of champagne in the other.

"Dammit," Sirius groaned into his hand.

Lily laughed. She then looked to the boys and asked, "By the way, where's Evie and Lupin?"

"I think Remus' hitching a ride with Williams," revealed Sirius, taking another sip of his coke.

"He lives in London?" asked Lily, somewhat for surprised for some reason.

"No, but his parents in St. Mungo's," Sirius went on absentmindedly before realizing it wasn't his place to say that Remus' parents were in the hospital.

"Why?" Lily asked a little too loudly.

"Good going, Padfoot," James said sarcastically.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to," Sirius said as he rubbed his forehead harshly. "Damn."

"Well, know that you already know," sighed James. "You know these are trying times for the world we live in, and well, Mrs. Lupin is a muggle-born while his dad is half. So, they went after Lupin's mother-"

"Oh no," Lily said as she put a hand over her mouth, thinking the worst.

"No, they didn't kill her," James said before she could say her conclusion out loud. "They did use their fair share of hexes on her and the… _Cruciatus _curse on her. Of course, Mr. Lupin is a nobleman, so he tried to take it as well. So, they are both recovering at St. Mungo's."

Lily looked somewhat upset. She crossed her arms and asked, "Then shouldn't he be with them during Christmas, don't you-"

"Evans, they aren't conscious," James said softly.

"Oh…" Lily murmured softly.

"It was a very recent accident, maybe a week ago," said Sirius coolly. He looked back at Lily and said, "Don't worry about it. Remus is very good at taking care of himself. He can hold himself together."

Lily didn't look comforted, but she nodded simply.

"Don't tell him we told you," said James. "He hates being pitied. It'll be best if you pretended like you didn't know anything."

"Ok," Lily said with a nod, understanding the dislike of being pitied by anyone; she hated when people pitied her.

She then looked at James and Sirius, confused. She scratched her head and murmured, "How's Evie getting here? She can't apparate – and bloody hell, they better not be bringing broomsticks. The floo network can't work either with all of these muggles either."

James smirked, "Evie didn't tell you?"

"Didn't tell me what?"

"Evie can drive – she has a car," he said casually.

"A car?" Lily asked in disbelief. "Like a real _muggle _car."

James and Sirius nodded. "She drove over to my place during the summer for dinner. It's a beauty of a vehicle. An Aston Martin DB5, right out of the James Bond movies. A classic." James added the details about the car dreamily. "Of course, the bitch wouldn't let me touch it since it was a sweet 16 present from her father."

Lily shook her head at James' story. She then noticed that their coats were still in on. "Oh pass me your coats, I'll put them upstairs."

Sirius smiled, "Oh thanks," but his attention was clearly placed elsewhere. He was staring at a teenage girl about their age with caramel colored hair and deep turquoise eyes.

He passed her his coat and Lily whispered, "Her name is Linda Hall: she's one of my neighbors, a bit of a prude though."

Sirius shrugged, "She'll change her mind on that once I get my hand up her knickers."

"Oh gross," Lily shuddered and motioned for James to pass hers.

"I'll go with you," offered James politely.

Lily looked at him skeptically, causing him to ask, "What?" a bit harshly. She shook her head and walked off with James following her. They maneuvered through a plethora of people, saying pardon and excuse me. They finally reached the stairs and quickly moved up them.

"We'll put them in my parents' room," said Lily as they walked through the hallway.

"You've got a nice place," said James, looking at the small pictures placed all over the place.

There was a small picture on the wall of Lily. She was young, maybe 6 or 7, in a pink dress in front of a church. She looked very cute. There was another one of Lily and her sister, about 9 for her and maybe 12 for the sister. They were holding hands, running in a big lawn.

"Over here, Potter," Lily said from her parents' door.

James walked over to Lily. She opened the door and placed down Sirius' jacket on her mother's bed along, and James did the same.

"All right, out," Lily demanded impatiently, motioning for him to shoo.

"Ok, ok," said James, quickly moving himself out of the bedroom. But before he left and now that he was finally alone with her, he could smell the distinct scent of her perfume.

_Chanel No. 5_

James let out a long breath as Lily closed the door. It was intoxicating, and she looked simply irresistible. He just had to have her.

James turned around as Lily closed the door softly. "Ok, back downstairs now, Potter – Potter?"

He was leaning her against the wall of the hall. He rested a hand on the wall and leaned in closely.

Ok, Lily couldn't deny that he looked good tonight. It was like denying the sky was blue. He looked mature and so well put-together. But that didn't he still wasn't an arrogant toerag.

"Don't, Potter," Lily said as she pushed him away using only a slight among of force. She coolly tried to push past him.

James grabbed her hand and tried to pull her back. "Oh come off it, Evans. One date, it'll be lovely. I can prove to you that I can be a gentleman-"

"You said you'd be a gentleman tonight," Lily pointed out, shaking off his hand. "Not doing too hot, now are we?"

"Well, I didn't slam you against the wall, pry your legs and mouth open, and force my hand down your knickers," James countered nonchalantly.

Lily rolled her eyes and said, "Ok, Potter – so you're doing better than usual and better than with your _other _girls. But, no, I will not go out on a date with you. So please, let's head back downstairs before someone thinks something irrational."

"So bloody rational all the time," sighed James, rubbing his forehead. But he listened to her and walked down the stairs with Lily right behind him.

"Lily!"

James looked when he heard a male voice call out her name.

"Joseph!" Lily squealed, absolutely delighted. She pushed past James and ran down the stairs. She turned herself and ran into the boy's arms.

James felt his stomach flip once or twice at the sight.

_Joseph _was a good-looking bloke and there was absolutely no denying that. He had dirty blond hair with bright brown eyes. He was tall, maybe the same height as James or a little taller. He had a muscular, yet lean build. He was wearing a collared sky blue sweatshirt with kahki pants.

"I've missed you!" Lily smiled brightly, more brightly than she has ever greeted James.

"I've missed you too, Lil," smiled Joseph, putting a hand on her shoulder. He looked at her up and down and he smiled even bigger, "You… You sure have grown, Lily."

"Tends to happen," Lily shrugged.

James hadn't know how he had done it, but by some miracle, he ended up directly behind Lily. Maybe he apparted without thinking, or did some magic, or... something.

"Oh, right," Lily said, seeing James. "James Potter, this a friend of mine. We're neighbors, and he currently studies at Oxford in Mathematics."

"Joseph Watson," he introduced himself kindly, putting out a hand.

Naturally, James had no desire to shake the prat's hand. None at all, but out of common courtesy, James shook his hand.

Lily then pointed her hands over to James and said, "Joe, this is a school mate of mine, J-"

"Potter. James Potter," James said seriously, making Lily raise an eyebrow. She had never seen him act so… _dignified _at one time. She would have to save this memory somehow.

"Pleasure," Joseph said.

"Sirius Black." Sirius introduced himself, always making an interesting appearance. He put out his hand and Joseph shook it.

"So, you're both in the same house as Lily, I take it?" Joseph asked politely.

"Yup," smiled Sirius, putting an arm around Lily's shoulder. "All six years-"

"Get off of me, Black," growled Lily.

"Right, right," Sirius said, immediately backing up, putting his hands up in defense. "We save the touching for James."

"Watch it," James said lowly to his friend.

"Ugh," Lily groaned, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Sorry, they're a bit mental if you know what I mean."

Joseph smiled and said, "No, they're actually quite amusing to be honest."

"Glad to amuse," growled James lowly, so only Sirius and Lily could hear over the roar of laughter at the other end of the hall.

"Oh!" Someone squealed.

"They're driving too fast," another person scolded.

"They're going to hit something."

"Bloody hell that's a nice car!"

Lily, James, Sirius, and Joseph all looked towards the window to see a silver Aston Martin DB5 appear on the road, going way past the speed limit. But somehow, it managed to park perfectly in the open space right in front of the house.

"Is that _Evie_?" Lily asked James and Sirius, amazed.

"Yup," they both sighed.

In that moment, James could literally feel the light bulb flicker on in his head. It was a wonderful, brilliant idea. Evie Williams would be his savior tonight. She was a rational, cool, bright girl who would surely help out an old friend. Not to mention that she was very attractive and knew how to flirt. She was pretty much the perfect girl to help him make Lily jealous.

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Review, tell friends? - Thanks, from ASIA P.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Here's another chapter! Please Enjoy!

Go tell your friends about the fic and **REVIEW! **(They really mean a lot to me! Pretty please?)

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_December 25__th__, 1976 – Evans' Residence: 07:15pm_

Two figures slid out of the car: one woman and one man. The man stumbled out of the passenger seat and growled at the woman as he slammed the door. The woman merely laughed as the two walked to the front of the door, ringing the door bell.

Before Lily could get it, Mr. Evans got it.

"Evelyn! Remus! Am I correct or did I manage to screw up your names already without a second glass of wine?" He asked jokingly as he opened the door for the two.

"No, you got it right, Mr. Evans," smiled Evie as she walked in. She was wearing a hat, scarf, and a thick black trench coat.

"It's a pleasure to see you two again," smiled Mr. Evans, shaking both of their hands. "Happy Christmas."

"To you too, Sir," smiled Remus.

"Remus!" Sirius smiled as he clapped his friend on the back. "Happy Christmas, Moony."

"Back at you, Padfoot," smiled Remus as he shimmied his jacket off. He wore a gray button down shirt, black tie, with black slacks. He looked very professional, but quite dapper as well.

"Happy Christmas, Williams," Sirius said in a much more calm and unenthusiastic tone.

"The new cut looks good on you, Black," Evie said coolly as she slid her jacket, scarf, and hat off.

Sirius almost fainted at the sight of her.

Evie looked stunning to say the least. She looked so elegant and mature that it was hard for people not to notice her. Her black hair shinned prettily on her left shoulder as he side bangs covered some of her face. Her blue eyes were enhanced by the dark make-up she used to enhance them beautifully. She had on dark red lipstick that complemented her tan skin in a lovely way.

She wore something very simple in comparison to Lily. Her outfit was a cream-colored silk button down shirt – the first three buttons were undone, showing the top of cleavage just ever so slightly. She wore fitted black trousers that sucked nicely against her hips and legs, which her shirt tucked into. She wore black high heel lace-up boots, pair of shimmery pink dangly earrings, and a small chain around her neck.

"_Bloody hell…_" Sirius gulped, noticing Evie's well-toned behind.

"Happy Christmas, Lily!" Evie smiled as she and Lily hugged.

"Happy Christmas, Evie!" Lily smiled back, glad to see her friend here – and also glad that there was another person to keep the Marauders in check.

Evie held out a bottle of Pinot Noir to her. "My mum always used to say never show up to a party empty handed," she said sheepishly. "So, it's for you parents."

"Wow," Joseph said, examining it in Lily's hand. "Well done, a 1924. A classic, where did you find this?"

Evie looked at Lily – she preferred not to speak to people she didn't know because essentially, Evie didn't like people.

"Oh, Joe, this Evelyn Williams, my best friend at school," Lily introduced. "Evie, this Joseph Watson. He's a neighbor and studies at Oxford University."

"Pleasure," said Joseph with a kind smile.

"Likewise," said Evie with a cool smile.

"And this is Remus Lupin, another classmate and the other prefect in my year and house," Lily revealed.

The two shook hands.

"It was in my wine cabinet," Evie went on, answering Joe's question. "My father has never touched it, though it has been there for years. It's not like my brother is home either."

"Where do you live?" Joe asked, politely.

"Islington, London-"

Sirius choked on something. He didn't know what, but he sure as hell did now. He began coughing loudly that both Remus and James had to pat him on his back to aid him in breathing.

"You okay over there, Black?" Lily asked, amused.

"Y-you live in Islington?" Sirius asked, still unable to fathom that concept.

"Yes…" Evie replied slowly, skeptical as to why that made Sirius Black choke on thin air.

"Surprise after surprise," Sirius murmured to Remus and James, who both knew that all of his family lived there under the Fidelius Charm.

"It's only the beginning," smirked James, and finally deciding to put the let's-make-Evans-as-jealous-as-possible plan into action.

James confidently and smoothly up behind Evie. He rested a hand on her hip gently and placed a soft kiss on her opposite cheek. "Happy Christmas, Evie," he said in a low, mature, and somewhat heated voice that could make girls swoon.

Lily frowned at the sight. This was weird. Evie and James never did that before. Sure they knew each for 11 years or so, but they never kissed each other on the cheek... not even for greetings, not even for holidays, and not especially not for holiday greetings. Why now all of a sudden…?

Evie turned to James and looked at him appraisingly. In the back of her head, she knew what he was playing at; she had known him long enough to somewhat understand the madness behind the need for the James Potter charm. But, she didn't know how she felt about it. So she simply said, "And to you as well."

"You look stunning," he said charmingly, still holding her hip. He pressed his thumb into her bone, almost to the point of pain. He was trying to make it clear that this was _all _for Lily as he glanced a little over to Lily.

"You don't look so bad yourself, James," Evie said, trying very hard not to cringe at the pain he was inflicting. She mentally finalized that yes, she would help James in his little jealousy plan to win over Lily because in the end, Evie did believe that Lily should go on one date with the boy. So she agreed by giving him a distinct blink, like the ones they used to give each other when they would prank Dylan back when their age was still in the single digits.

"Go get me a coke, would you, Potter?" Evie asked in a seductive tone, leaning back and more closely to him.

James smiled, "Gladly."

Remus and Sirius followed.

"Are you playing Williams?" Sirius asked, disapprovingly.

James frowned and shook his head. "Of course not. Evie is the last person in the world who could be played... even by me. I'm making an agreement with her."

"How so?" Remus asked as he watched James actually pour a glass of coke for Evie.

"She's agreed to let me… _use _her to make Evans jealous for the evening," smiled James.

"How did she agree to that?" Sirius asked in disbelief. "You barely said anything to her."

"We used to prank her brother all the time when we were kids," explained James. "We used to do this all the time – signaling."

"Well, she sure looks good enough to make Evans jealous," said Sirius. "Wow, what a body."

James walked back over to Evie, who was now simply watching Joseph and Lily chat about some sort of muggle thing.

"Thank you," Evie said kindly as James passed her a cup of coke.

"… You're so lucky!" Lily laughed cutely – a laugh that James wished one day that he could hear for himself.

"Lucky, maybe not, but fortunate yes," smiled Joseph. "You should visit over Easter Break. You'd love Oxford!"

Lily looked over to Evie and the Marauders with a slight glance, noticing that James was listening. She then smiled at Joseph and said, "That sounds amazing! I'd absolutely love to."

James' stomach clenched as he heard it. He walked over to the vacant couch and sat on the end. Evie sat next to him with Sirius on the other side of her, and Remus standing, looking at the collection of books.

"You owe me," growled Evie lowly. "_Big _time, Potter."

"Ok, what'd you want?" James sighed.

Evie thought about this for a moment. She then smiled and said in a low tone, "Use of that invisibility cloak."

"Hell no," James said shortly and sternly. Evie made an unamused face, while Sirius chuckled quietly. James sighed and said, "Just once."

"One time leads to a not so believable impression that _we _are flirting," said Evie as she crossed her arms coolly. "Two times makes it look good, other people will notice." She then leaned in closer to him and whispered in his ear seductively, "Three will make Lily squirm at the sight."

"Fair, three," James groaned as Sirius laughed. "You better make it look good, Williams."

"I always make it good," smirked Evie as she leaned in and giggled as if he said something funny. She brushed her hair to the side and looked at James innocently, but not overly-affectionate.

"Oh this is too funny," Sirius laughed.

Later in the evening, Lily looked over to the couch and saw James with an arm wrapped around Evie's shoulder. They were talking casually with Remus and Sirius, but something interesting and amusing, but not funny.

Yes, Evie looked beautiful, but she always did. It was a given. With most of the boys at Hogwarts, when someone said Evie Williams, the word that would come up would be "Beautiful," "Gorgeous," or something along the lines. But did she look that extraordinary tonight that even made James look at her in another way?

Lily immediately felt bad for even thinking that. She _did _look beautiful; James Potter had every right to try and flirt with her. It made sense.

They looked so comfortable with her leaning against him, smiling and chatting away about something trivial probably. They looked good together almost.

In the back of her mind, Lily replaced Evie with herself. She imagined it was her that had James beside her with his arm around her shoulder, it was her laughing with him, and it was her that was so comfortably with him-

"Lily?" It was Lily's mum's voice that awoke Lily from her trans.

"Oh, oh yes, Mum?" She asked as she shook her head softly. "I was just thinking of something. Sorry."

Mrs. Evans looked quite beautiful that evening. She wore a dark purple button-up dress with a loose black belt around her waist. Her red hair was in a lovely beehive do, outlining her face delicately.

"Introduce me to your friends," smiled Mrs. Evans. "I've been dying to meet them all night."

Lily nodded and noticed that time really did pass through the night. It was already somehow 8:30. She didn't get to spend as much time with the Marauders and Evie as she wanted – she had been so busy, meeting and greeting. She felt bad that she wasn't doing her proper job as a hostess.

"Ok," Lily agreed, interlocking her arm with her mother's. They walked over to the Marauders and Evie on the couch.

"Guys, this is my Mum," said Lily. "Natalie Evans." She looked over to Remus and introduced him: "This is Remus Lupin – he's the other prefect in my year in Gryffindor."

"Pleasure to meet you, Remus," Mrs. Evans smiled as they shook hands. "I hope you make sure that my Lily doesn't abuse her powers as a prefect."

James, Sirius, and Evie let out mild chuckles under their breath. Lily glared at them.

"No, Evans does acts very fairly as prefect," smiled Remus. "She normally keeps me in check."

Lily then looked over to Sirius and said, "And this is Sirus Black – a housemate."

"Pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Evans," smiled Sirius charmingly.

"Nice to meet you too, Sirius," said Mrs. Evans as they shook hands. She then looked over to Evie who stood up. She noticed that the other boy's (James) hands was placed on the small of her back as she stood up - interesting.

"And you must be Evie Williams," said Mrs. Evans as they shook hands. "Lily was right – you are lovely. I've heard so many good things about you, Evie. Do you mind if I call you that."

"Oh of course, I prefer it actually," smiled Evie as they shook hands. "And I've heard so many wonderful things about you too, Mrs. Evans."

"Hopefully good things," said Mrs. Evans. She then looked down to James, who then stood up at the eye contact. "And you _must _be James Potter, am I correct?"

"Yes, Miss," smiled James as he stood to shake her hand.

"I've heard loads about you," smirked Mrs. Evans.

"_Mum_," Lily groaned softly, closing her eyes softly.

"Good things I hope," said James, looking over to Lily with questioning, but still very playful and joking eyes.

"In the long run, yes," revealed Mrs. Evans. She then motioned for them to come in closer and whispered, "One day, I'll have to invite all of you back so I can here about _school _without having to worry about these... _muggles._"

The group of teenagers laughed wildly along with Mrs. Evans.

"We'd be glad to," revealed James, still coping with the aftershocks of his laughing attack.

Mrs. Evans smiled, "Lovely. Lily, could you help me with a little bit of cleaning up outside – I think, your little cousin, Oliver, tripped a wire. Can you fix it for me?"

"Of course," said Lily.

"Oh, but you're so absolutely short," whined Mrs. Evans before coughing into her closed fist.

The Marauders and Evie let out small guffaws.

"James, dear, would you help my gnome-sized daughter outside please?" Mrs. Evans asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Mum," Lily whined. "You aren't that much taller than me."

"I'm old though," Mrs. Evans countered with a smile. "Unlike you, Lily, I have an excuse."

"I'm not short, I'm average!" Lily said.

"Oh whatever you say, Love," said Mrs. Evans as she pushed James and Lily toward the backyard to fix the lights. She then let out another vigorous cough.

James and Lily walked outside to the dark night, even though there was supposed to be a range of different lights on the trees.

"Looks like the plug is out," sighed Lily as she motioned for James to follow her.

"_Plug_?" James asked in a confused tone. "That is…?"

"It's something… how do I explain this…. Well, you use to _light _things up. It acts as a medium for the electricity," revealed Lily, trying her very hardest to explain muggle things, but it was quite difficult.

"Oh…" James said, still trying to work it out in his head.

"Did you ever take Muggle studies?" Lily asked while she tried to skim the tops of the trees for the ending of the wire for the lights.

"No, I take appiration and Magical Creatures," revealed James. "Learn about muggles from dad's books."

"James Potter being studious? How charming," Lily smirked, causing James to smirk casually. She then looked at him questioningly, tilting her head to the side while biting her lower lip - a habit that James noticed she did when she was interested in something or confused by something.

_Oh, she is lovely, _James' voice thought in the back of his mind.

"What do you want to do when you get out school?" Lily asked curiously.

"Auror. Like my dad."

Lily nodded her head approvingly. She knew for a fact that James was very intelligent for someone who was such a troublemaker. He always got O's and E's on his homework, tests, and essays. He just never showed up to class on time and always felt compelled to cause some sort of trouble.

That also explained why James studied the shit out of himself for the O. - so he could get into N.E.W.T courses.

"Your dad's an auror?" Lily asked, tugging on what seemed like the end of the plug.

"He's the… well, he's the Head of Aurors," said James in a slow voice, scratching his head.

Lily froze and turned her head to him. "Your dad is the Head of Aurors?"

James nodded, "You didn't know?"

"No! Wow, that's amazing," mused Lily. "You never told me, Potter – well, this is our first conversation in which you don't ask me to either snog, shag, or date you-"

"Well, now that you mention it," mused James. "Why don't you give me a Christmas kiss, Evans? Just for the hell of it."

"No bloody way," scoffed Lily, finally finding the end of the plug. "Oh, there it is. How in Merlin's Beard did Ollie get it up there?"

James looked up to see that there was a plug dangling off the roof of the house. Now, James definitely couldn't reach that – if he had his broom, that'd be a different story of course though.

"You can't even reach that, can you?" Lily asked doubtfully.

"I can do _this_ though," said James.

Before Lily knew it, James had picked Lily up from the back of her knees. She let out a small squeal and whispered in a scolding voice, "I'm wearing a dress, Potter!"

"Yes, I see," smirked James. He adjusted both of them so that Lily could get as high as possible without him letting go of her. In the course of that process, he got a slight glimpse underneath her dress and it wasn't even his intention. She was wearing black lace knickers, not overly frilly or anything, but just straight up lace knickers that barely covered her ass. "Nice knickers, Evans," he smirked, "Shapes your rear very nicely."

"Ugh! Put me down, you arse!" Lily scolded.

"Just get the bloody plug," said James. "Is all lace- ah yes, they are. Special occasion, Evans?"

Lily chose to ignore that one, but not without a disapproving huff. She reached for the plug and managed to get it on the second try. "Ok, now drop me down."

James listened to her. He smirked as he threw her up a little.

"James!" Lily screamed.

James laughed as he managed to catch her in a cradle position. One hand supported her back, while the other hooked under her knees. He smiled and said proudly, "You said my name, _Lily. _Well, actually, you screamed it. I always wanted to hear that-"

"Sod off, Potter," Lily gritted through her teeth as she pushed herself out of his arms. She straightened her dress and huffed. "It was a moment of terror, and it will never happen again."

"Awe," James pouted dramatically. "Just once more. I love it when you scream my name, Baby-"

"Oh gross," Lily said as she rolled her eyes. She walked over to the edge of the house with James following her. He followed her and watched her bend over to plug it in.

"D-did Evans just bend over for James?" Remus asked, by the counter in the kitchen, embarrassed at the thought. But his eyes didn't deceive. She bent right down in front of him.

"Ata boy, Potter," smirked Sirius.

"It's for the plug, you idiots," Evie said as she took a sip of her coke.

"A what?" Sirius asked.

"Muggle thing," Remus said as if it we an excuse for him to stop trying.

"Oh, I see," said Sirius. "Oh! Is it like a sex position?!"

Remus immediately covered his mouth as Evie sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. Mrs. Ritz, the elderly woman across the street, looked at Sirius, completely appalled.

"He's slightly stupid, Ma'am," said Evie in a very casual and apologetic tone. "Sorry."

Mrs. Ritz walked away and murmured something along the lines of "Children these days."

"Thanks, Williams," growled Sirius.

"Oh, don't get your panties in a bunch, Black," Evie said coolly.

James and Lily walked back in. The night went on smoothly from there. Sirius and Remus flirted with girls while James stayed mostly with Evie and Lily throughout the night.

It was the first night that Lily and James didn't really fight with one another.

It was surprisingly smooth, and Lily had felt relieved.

"MUM!"

The door slammed open immediately, following the screechy voice. It was Petunia's loud voice.

She ran past the people, not bothering to wipe off the snow on her body. She found her parents talking to Mr. and Mrs. Walters and shouted, "VERNON PROPOSED!"

Lily gasped at the news, extraordinarly excited for her sister. Even though Lily was no fan of Vernon Dursely (The hippo of a boyfriend), she did know that Petunia was very happy with him.

"Oh how wonderful, Darling," Mrs. Evans smiled sweetly, hugging her daughter tightly.

Mr. Evans then gave his daughter a hug.

Lily got up from her seat and walked over to Petunia. She put a hand on her shoulder and said, "I'm so happy for you, Tuney."

Petunia looked at her sister, wanting to be disgusted. But right now, Petunia was too happy to even _hate _her witch-sister. She gave her a hug and said, "Thanks, Lily."

Lily looked back and noticed that Evie was staring intently outside of the window by the backyard. She got up and quickly moved past the people gathering behind her. James followed her.

Normally when James Potter followed girls, there would be laughing and giggling going on. But his face was concerned and distraught. They walked outside to the backyard with Remus and Sirius following right behind them.

Lily tried to move past the people that were crowding them and managed to catch Sirius before he went into the kitchen.

"What's wrong with Evie?" asked Lily, concerned for her best friend.

"She got a letter from the Ministry – The Hit Division," revealed Sirius in a serious tone. "It looks serious."

Lily furrowed her eyebrows. "The Hit Division? Doesn't Evie's dad work for them?"

"I think so too… oh no," Sirius whispered, looking outside.

Lily shifted herself to get a better look and was utterly confused to see Evie staring blankly at the ground before her. In her hand was a piece of parchment from the Ministry. James and Remus looked upset, but not as much as Evie who looked like the soul had just been sucked out of her.

From what, Lily could see Evie was now crying, but in the most literal sense possible. There were no loud sobs, no shouting, or expressions of anger. It was literally just tears formulating in Evie's eyes and flowing down her cheeks onto the ground.

Lily had never seen Evie cry before.

James took Evie by the shoulders and into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and whispered something into her ear. He then kissed the top of her head.

Under the worry, under the pity, under the scare that Lily felt for Evie in that moment, she also felt a twang of jealousy.

"What happened?" Sirius asked Remus as they made their way to the door.

"Evie's dad and brother... they were killed by Death Eaters," Remus whispered softly to Sirius and Lily.

* * *

**Review? Please with a cherry on top? :D**


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Here's another chapter. **Review **and Enjoy! Thank you so much to the support so far - It means so much.

* * *

_December 25__th__, 1976 – Evans' Residence: 10:32pm_

"Oh god," Lily whispered as she put a hand over her mouth. Every amount of jealousy that she had previously neglected to feel now disappeared.

"Williams…" Sirius murmured.

Evie's dad was a Hit Wizard – he had the most dangerous job in the Ministry and possibly in the whole Wizarding world. Putting it in muggle terms, it was as if he were an assassin/bounty hunter for the government. Her brother, only 19, was working as a Healer in France, an internship over there.

How did the two get connected though? Why were they both killed? Together too? Mr. Williams was currently working in Bulgaria, according to Evie.

Eive pulled back from James and wiped her eyes. She walked over to Lily and said weakly, "I-I'm sorry, but I've got to go, Lily."

"No, no! Of course," Lily said hugging her friend tightly. "I'll come with you."

Evie smiled softly, but very weakly, "No, you don't have to. This is your party, your sister just got engaged, a-and you should spend it with your family - you really don't have t-to." She began choking up again, unable to speak.

Sirius put an arm around her and kissed her forehead. "Come on, Evie. We'll take you to London, right, James, Remus?"

"Of course," James agreed, while Remus nodded confidently.

Sirius took her hand and walked with her past the large group of people. Lily ran to get Evie's, Remus', and Sirius' jackets from upstairs. James followed her.

Once they were upstairs, James unconsciously punched the wall. "Fuck!" He shouted softly.

"P-potter," Lily said, stopping James from punching the wall again. She grabbed his hand and made him face her. He noticed that his eyes were tearing too, but he wasn't going to cry. "You've got to stay calm… for Evie, okay? She just lost her entire family."

James let out a long breath. It must've hurt him a bit to hear that Evie's father and Dylan were now gone. He kind of grew up with them. People were gone now for James.

Evie's mom died several years ago, but never talked about it with Lily. However, Evie was always somewhat prepared for her father's death. Her father had a very dangerous job, and Evie was always somewhat ready to hear that one day that her father would've died on the job – he preferred it that way.

But not Dylan.

No, Evie adored Dylan with all of her heart. She loved her big brother, admired him, and understood him completely. They were so close for siblings. His job didn't require an element of danger, and Evie preferred it that way. She must be crushed-

"Come on, Potter," urged Lily, feeling her throat constrict. It began to hurt then to hold back the water from her eyes.

"Evans…" James murmured.

"Let's go," Lily said quicky as she passed him his jacket. She ran down the stairs with James right behind her. "Here you go," she passed jackets to Remus and Sirius, who was now holding Evie as they stood outside, who was still crying.

Remus took Evie's car keys from her jacket. They began to file out towards Evie's Aston Martin.

"Lily… where are you going?" Mrs. Evans asked with Petunia by her side.

Lily looked to James, and then quickly looked back at her mother and sister. She ran to them and said, "I've got to go with Evie-"

"It's Christmas!" Petunia shouted at her viciously and offended. "I just got engaged! You can't just leave. You've got to stay with the family-"

"Evie's family has just been murdered!" Lily countered softly. In the corner of her eyes, Lily noticed that James came up behind her.

"Oh dear…" Mrs. Evans murmured.

"I'll be back," said Lily as she began to walk backwards.

"No!" Petunia shouted as she grabbed Lily's hand back, and James got closer. "Who knows – this might be the last time we all spend Christmas together because Mum might very well be gone-"

"PETUNIA!" Lily shouted harshly. "Shut the hell up and stop being a selfish bitch-"

"Girls stop!" Mrs. Evans said sternly. She then looked at her youngest daughter and said, "Go, Lily. I'll always be here when you get back – I'm not that far gone yet."

Petunia turned a bright red and walked away, embarrassed.

"Thank you," Lily said as she ran back to the group.

Lily turned around and noticed that James was still talking to Mrs. Evans and Petunia. "I'm sorry about all of this, Mrs. Evans-"

"No, don't be," Mrs. Evans said as she took James' hands into hers. She then whispered softly, "Lily is pretending to be strong right now, but she can only _pretend_ to be something she _isn't_. She isn't very strong right now, James. She's quite weak and tired, and this won't help her."

James didn't know what to say to be honest. He just gulped and nodded.

"Keep an eye on her for me," Mrs. Evans said, squeezing her hands tightly together. "She's been through a lot lately, not like Evie clearly, but her own fair share of pain."

"Mum! We've got to go!" Lily shouted at her from a far.

James turned back to Mrs. Evans and said, "I will, Mrs. Evans. Don't worry."

He ran backwards to Lily and then he slid into the front shotgun seat of the car.

_Pain… _It was an interesting concept in his mind. When people said, 'Oh, I feel your pain.' How was it possible to feel someone else's pain? Pain comes differently to everyone and everyone is different. So, what has Lily gone through?

Evie sat by a window seat, staring blankly out of the window. She wasn't crying anymore, but she just looked lifeless. Remus drove quickly, but carefully threw the streets of England. It took them forty minutes, but it felt like hours. The air was dense and filled with sorrow.

How could someone just be gone from life? How could they no longer exist? It didn't make sense to Lily. She wondered about it sadly, looking out the window.

They drove to the London and to the visitor's entrance: the telephone booth. They all walked to the booth. "You can go first, Evie," offered James.

Evie, Sirius, and Remus went in and pressed in the code: 62442 (MAGIC). And with that, the three of them slowly moved into the ground.

"James," Lily murmured softly.

James stiffened at the use of his first name. Not in a scream, tone of disgust, and not even with his last name. Lily Evans simply said, "James."

"What happened to Evie's mum?" Lily asked, finally looking up to him.

"She died," said James softly after a long moment. He then looked at her quizzically and asked, still in a soft tone, "Evie never told you?"

"She did – she told me about that," revealed Lily, blinking softly. "Just never how."

James then sighed. He's never told this story before, and better yet, was it even his place to tell it? The death of Laurel Williams…

"Well, Mrs. Williams stayed at home with Dylan and Evie while Mr. Williams worked – he made enough money to support the house without Mrs. Williams working," revealed James softly. In the corner of his eyes, he noticed that Lily was shivering.

Lily wasn't wearing much to stay warm. It was colder than it was earlier, probably dropped a few degrees. She had on a light jacket, but it was probably the first one she saw in her house.

James, not even realizing what he was doing until he felt cold air hit his body, slipped off his jacket. He lightly put it on Lily's shoulders.

Lily looked up at him and wrapped it more tightly around her jacket. With a sheepish nod, she whispered, "Thanks…"

"With Mr. Williams job, he had a lot of people who hated him," James went on, briefly nodding at the thanks. "So one day, when Evie was probably nine or so, she was out with Dylan playing apparently. One of the criminals that weren't so fond of Mr. Williams came and killed Mrs. Williams. Dylan and Evie came home to see their mother dead on the ground."

Lily looked down, but didn't say anything. She just let James go on.

"It was right before Dylan went off to Hogwarts – he got out of the situation," revealed James. Clenching his fist, he groaned, "I never really forgave Dylan for that, leaving Evie behind as his father continued to work to support the family. How could you just leave your little sister so easily? But then again, Hogwarts was a once in a lifetime thing. Evie went to live with Danny Crenshaw's family that year – that's why Evie and Danny are so close."

Lily wiped a tear away from her eye. She felt bad – bad that she consistently complained mentally about her mother dying. But Evie… lost everyone in her family just like that.

Her mom is gone, and now she just lost her father and brother. How was that even fair of her? Her best friend loosing everything and there she was, complaining about six hours ago, about how her mother was slowly dying. Was it fair of her? Not remotely.

"What was she like?" Lily asked suddenly.

"Who?"

"Mrs. Williams…" Lily looked up to James, who was now directly looking forward at the telephone booth.

James smiled, "She was lovely. She was a young mother, younger than both of my parents and Mrs. Williams. Thinking about it now, she looks just like Evie – just older. She was very nice to Evie and Dylan. And she would always act kindly towards me. She didn't deserve to die so early. I think she was only thirty when she died."

_Poor Evie…_

"Lily...?" James whispered, concerned by the silence from Lily.

"I'm awful," Lily murmured softly.

James thought he didn't hear her correctly. "Pardon?"

"I'm perfectly awful," she said again, weakly, as if her voice were cracking.

James immediately shook his head and whispered, "No. Evans, not at all… What's wrong-"

"I'm here complaining about my mother dying, while Evie just lost her entire family. I'm _absolutely _pathetic and weak."

_So that's what Mrs. Evans meant, _James thought, upset for Lily. She was loosing her mum; James could tell that they were close at the party. She looked up to her mother – it must've been so hard for her-

The telephone booth reappeared. James opened the door for Lily and let her walk in first. He quickly dialed in the code and let the door close behind him.

"You're not pathetic or weak, Lily…"

Lily looked up at him and raised an eyebrow in question. She then sighed, "In comparison to Evie, I am. I'm so horribly pathetic. She's strong and never cries. I'm so envious of her-"

"Don't compare yourself to Evie," James interrupted her, causing Lily to slightly straighten at James' serious voice. He then looked at her and said, "Just because she doesn't let anyone see her cry doesn't mean that she doesn't cry. She's always been good at hiding her emotions from other people. She told me once that if she were to cry, it better be for a good damn reason." He then smiled wryly at her and said, "There is no shame in worrying about your mother's health. I would too."

Lily felt herself smile weakly at him, but said genuinely, "Thank you."

They reached to the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic. In front of the opening was Evie, Sirius, and Remus talking to a man that neither James nor Lily had ever met before.

"… I am sorry, Evelyn," said the man. He was older and had gray hair with stubble on his face. He had soft brown apologetic eyes. He was wearing dress robes; it looked like he had just come from a party. "And on this holiday-"

Evie nodded without even looking at him, "I know, Mr. Hawthorne. I know." Her arms were crossed as her rubbing the sides of her upper arms. She then looked at him and asked, "Can I just see them please?"

"Of course," nodded Mr. Hawthorne.

All of them in silence walked through the Atrium of the ministry. Lily had never been in the Atrium before or the Ministry of Magic. It was a marvelous place that would've intrigued Lily a much more if the circumstances were different.

They walked silently though the Ministry of Magic and into the elevators. They reached the second level of Ministry and walked to the "Hit Wizard Division."

There were several cubicles, desks, tables, and occasional rooms with longer tables like conference rooms. It wasn't a very friendly looking place, but I guess it couldn't be if you're bringing in criminals everyday.

They walked into "Examination Room 2." There were two bodies, covered with a white blanket, on two separate metal examining tables. There were two, what looked like, bodyguards standing in the corner of the rooms.

"Are you sure, Evelyn?" asked Mr. Hawthorn, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I'd prefer it if you called me Evie, Mr. Hawthorne. Only my father called me _Evelyn_," Evie said in a soft, but stern voice. She then nodded, "And yes, I am sure."

Mr. Hawthorne motioned for the two wizards in the back to take off the blankets. The two wizards gestured their wands and off the two blankets came.

They looked peaceful almost, as if they were sleeping. Mr. Williams, Lily had seen him in a few pictures, was a man probably in his late forties with black hair and tan skin. Though being tan, he looked pale at that moment. He had a few cuts and cruises along his body.

Dylan looked almost the same since he had graduated last year. Lily remembered that he had the stunning blue eyes as Evie, but a little paler than her. Unlike his father, Dylan had virtually no cuts or scars on his body. He looked perfectly healthy, but just sleeping.

Lily looked over to Evie, who just stared at them blankly, almost confused. She rested a hand on Evie's shoulder and gave it a tight caring squeeze for her best friend.

"How did it happen?" Evie asked.

Mr. Hawthrone raised an eyebrow and asked, "What do you mean-"

"How did the murder kill my brother and father?" Evie asked much more harshly and clearly.

"Oh…" Mr. Hawthrone said softly. He looked to the bodies and said, "The Killing Curse."

Sirius and Remus groaned slightly under their breath, while James cracked a wrist. The unforgivable curse? Just like that.

"Who did it?" Evie asked evenly, still staring at her family's dead bodies.

Mr. Hawthorne coughed into a closed fist and murmured, "Evely- _Evie_, you know it is against policy for us to announce the details of a specific case outside of the Magical Law Enforcement Unit or the Ministry himself. I'm sorry."

Evie clenched a fist and then looked up at him. Her piercing blue eyes shot right through Mr. Hawthrones' dark brown ones. "You're telling me that I don't get to know the name of the person who _killed _my father and my brother because of _policy_?"

"Evie, I am sorry-"

"You've been saying that an awful lot tonight," Evie growled. She walked up to him and said, "Stop apologizing – it makes you look weak, especially if it's not your own doing." Her words were cold, mean, harsh, and full of disdain. Lily nor James have ever heard Evie speak in such a manner. She could often say cold things, but now her voice literally could kill someone if that were possible.

"Tell me who killed my family," Evie said again.

"I cannot," said Mr. Hawthorne in a simple tone. "Since the case was left incomplete, we have to maintain as much discretion as possible. I am _not _allowed to tell you who your father was after and who got to him before he did."

The apologetic sweet tone left Mr. Hawthorne's mouth almost immediately. He became much more serious and professional, which sounded almost nonchalant and uncaring, but it's what Evie wanted.

Evie took a deep breath before saying in the calmest, coolest, and slowest tone, "That's fucking rubbish."

Lily, Mr. Hawthorne, Sirius, Remus, and James all slightly stood back due to Evie's words.

"It is policy, Evie," said Mr. Hawthorne after a long moment.

Walking into the examination room came two people: Mr. and Mrs. Potter.

"Oh, Evie," cried Mrs. Potter, the only one who had openly sobbed like that this evening. She ran to Evie and hugged her tightly. "Darling, I'm so sorry."

"It's all right, Mrs. Potter," Evie said kindly as she patted her back.

"Potter," Mr. Hawthorne said with a nod.

"Hawthorne," Mr. Potter replied. He looked over to the bodies and said, "Merlin, Hawthorne. Put a bloody blanket over the bodies."

"It's what Evie wanted," revealed Mr. Hawthrone as he motioned for the two wizards in the back to lower the blankets down back over the bodies. He then looked over to Evie who was still consoling Mrs. Potter and telling her that she was all right.

Even though both Lily and James knew she wasn't.

"We will do the Will reading tomorrow," revealed Mr. Hawthorne. "At 1pm here at the Ministry." He then asked Evie hestitanly if she had a place to go.

"You will stay with us," Mrs. Potter said under the sobs. She wiped her eyes and said, "Sirius can share a room with James and you can have the guest room, right, Sirius?"

"Absolutely," Sirius agreed instantly.

"Or you can stay with me," offered Lily, reaching out for Evie's hand. "I have a guest room that you could use if you'd like."

Evie smiled at both of them and said, "Actually, I'd prefer to be alone."

This shocked everyone in the room, leaving them all with wide eyes and slacked jaws. Not even Lily could predict this move.

"I just need some space," Evie said honestly. "I'm not going to go back to the flat through. Maybe I'll just crash at the Leaky Cauldron tonight."

"Evie," Mrs. Potter said incredulously. "That's ridiculous. Why don't you just stay with us the night-"

"Please, Mrs. Potter," Evie said in a somewhat innocent, yet pleading tone. "It's what I want."

Mrs. Potter looked unconvinced, but sighed. "Ok, Darling. But you need anything, just give us a call. You know the muggle telephone number to our house, right?"

"Yes, of course," Evie smiled weakly.

They all walked out. Evie stayed for a moment just to gently touch the hand of both her father and brother, but joined the rest. They walked back outside to bid their goodbyes.

"Where are you going?" Evie asked Remus as they walked out.

"Err… Back to St. Mungo's," revealed Remus wearily. "If my parents wake up, I'd like to be there."

"I see. I wish the best for their health," Evie said with a nod. "Well, Happy Christmas, Remus," she said softly as they gave each other a soft quaint hug.

"I'm terribly sorry, Evie," murmured Remus as he pulled back and passed her the keys to her car.

Evie nodded softly with a small weary smile before Remus said goodbye to the rest of his mates and walked through the streets of London.

"If you need anything, Evie," Lily said, making her goodbye before she went into her car. "Just let me know."

"Ok."

Holding her hand, Lily whispered, "Evie, you are allowed to mourn and cry for them. They were your family."

Evie chuckled dryly and lowly, "I know, Lily. But I've done the crying aspect."

"You barely did," Lily countered, squeezing her hand. "It's bad to keep it all inside, Evie."

Evie hugged her friend tightly and said, "I know, Lily. I know." She then pulled back and said, "But I will be fine. Go home and spend the rest of the night with your family." She then looked over her shoulder and said, "Oi, James, Sirius."

Sirius' head perked up.

James looked up from the ground and asked, "Yes?"

"Take her home will you?" Evie asked.

"Of course," James nodded. He then walked over to Evie and hugged her tightly. Lily moved back, letting them have their privacy. But she heard faintly from James, "You sure you'll be all right, Evie?"

"You worry too much about me, James," murmured Evie. Then she laughed quietly (the first genuine laugh since the news), "Sorry, I didn't properly help with Operation Red."

"Operation Red?" James asked as he pulled back with a confused face. He then sighed as he realized something, "Oh, you've got to be bloody kidding me! That's your concern?"

Lily looked at them quizzically, but remained quiet.

Evie smiled, "Happy Christmas, James."

"You too, Evie," he said as he pressed a chaste, but still prevalent kiss to Evie's cheek – making something in Lily's stomach churn despite their clear chasteness in the kiss. "Call me if anything."

Evie then looked over to Mr. and Mrs. Potter and said, "Thank you for coming, Mr. and Mrs. Potter."

"Anytime, Dear," Mrs. Potter smiled faintly, still wiping off the tears from her eyes.

"Happy Christmas, Evie," said Mr. Potter.

"And to you," Evie said as she slid in her car. She turned it on as everyone backed up except for Sirius. He leaned forward and motioned for her to roll down her window.

No one could hear what they were saying to one another once Evie did. But it ended too quickly for anyone to really take too much thought into it.

"Good Night, Sirius," said Evie.

"Night, Evie," Sirius said with a nod.

Evie then rolled up her window and drove through London.

"Poor Evie," sighed Mrs. Potter.

"She hates being pitied, Mum," James countered as the teenagers walked to the parents. He looked to Lily and said, "Oh Lily, these are my parents: Mr. Robert Potter and Mrs. Audrey Potter."

"Lily Evans?" Mr. Potter asked, clearly amused. He nodded with an oddly approving smile.

"She is even more lovely than you had said, James," smiled Mrs. Potter, shaking Lily's hand.

"_Mum_, no," James said simply.

Lily smirked and rolled her eyes to James. "It's nice to meet you – not under the current circumstances, but nice nonetheless."

"Likewise, Dear," smiled Mrs. Potter.

"I think there has been enough commotion for one day," said Mr. Potter. "Boys, why don't you go home with the Mrs. I'll apparate Miss Lily back to Cokeworth."

James looked skeptical, but did not argue. He simply looked to Lily and said, "Happy Christmas, Evans."

_And so the last name is back_, Lily thought sadly in the back of her head.

Wait.

Why sad? She preferred it this way.

"You too, Potter," Lily said back coolly.

"Happy Christmas, Lily," said Sirius with a kind smile. "Thanks for inviting us tonight by the way. It was nice before everything went south for lack of better phrase."

"No problem," revealed Lily with a smile. "Happy Christmas to you too, Sirius."

Mrs. Potter put out her hand for Lily to take. She smiled and said, "Nice meeting you, Mr. Potter."

"Likewise, Lily," said Mr. Potter.

All of a sudden, Mrs. Potter and Lily disappeared. They were headed to cokeworth. Once they were gone, Mr. Potter smirked to James.

"What?" James asked skeptically, eyeing his father down.

"She is a rather attractive girl," smirked Mr. Potter. "Pretty eyes."

Sirius laughed lowly while shaking his head.

James turned bright red and said, "Dad! Not now!"

"I'm just saying," Mr. Potter said in a cool tone.

Back in Cokeworth, Lily and Mrs. Potter walked through the streets back to the Evans' residence.

"So… James mentions me?" Lily asked, intrigued by the prior conversation.

"Mentions you?" Mrs. Potter snorted. "Oh please, every summer – no, every vacation. The first day back, somehow, your name comes up. When I ask about studies, he somehow mentions your name. I've always wanted to put a name to a face."

Lily smiled softly, blushing a bright red.

"And he talks so fondly of you in such a _boy _manner," laughed Mrs. Potter. "He would call you, to be honest, bookish, annoyingly intelligent, studious, and he often compared you to the Virgin Mary."

"Oh, I see," Lily laughed awkwardly.

They reached Lily's house, which was still booming with laughter and Christmas cheer, but it had died down a little.

"But, he would always mention you with such an adoring smile," said Mrs. Potter with a bright smile. "I thought that you two were together until he told me other wise – oh dear, I left the boys alone too long. They're probably having their own party. I must go, Lily."

"All right, thank you for taking me home, Mrs. Potter," Lily waved as Mrs. Potter walked back down the street of on-lookers, searching for a isolated place to apparate.

"No problem, Dear," said Mrs. Potter. She then turned around and said, "Lily?!"

"Yes?"

"Don't worry about Evie," said Mrs. Potter, surprising Lily somewhat. "As you must know, Evie is a strong young woman. She'll be fine."

"Oh ok," Lily smiled.

"Happy Christmas," Mrs. Potter said.

"Happy Christmas," Lily smiled before walking to the door of her house. _What a kind woman…_

At that moment, Lily would never guess that Mrs. Audrey Potter would someday be her mother-in-law.

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**Review please? Thanks so much :D**


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Here's another chapter. Please Review and Enjoy! (Thank you to my reviewers and followers - truly means a lot 3)

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_January 3__rd__, 1977 – Hogwarts Express: 03:45pm_

It had been a weary vacation to say the least.

Lily occasionally wrote a few letters with Evie, who continuously claimed to be fine, but she knew better than to believe that. Lily would have to see for herself as she patrolled through the cars of the Hogwarts Express. She specifically one letter:

_Lily,_

_You worry too much. I truly am fine – I've dealt with it and I will be fine. So stop worrying about me and spend your vacation with your family like every other person. And don't too much homework, Kid. _

_Thank you for the concern though, Lil. It's sweet._

_Have a Happy New Year,_

_Evie _

With your family? Yeah, right. Ever since Lily ran off to go with Evie to London on Christmas, Petunia has been acting even nastier to Lily. She's been ruder, shorter, and just flat out meaner with her. She couldn't take it. How could Petunia be so utterly indifferent and uncaring? It frustrated her to no ends.

Lily moved past a group of third year girls, giggling about something stupid probably. She slid into the next car. She looked inside the first compartment to see handsome Ravenclaw sixth year Robert Smith with some other Ravenclaw boys.

Lily had somewhat _fancied _Smith since she was in the third year. He was a good- looking bloke to say the least. He had black hair with grayish eyes. He was tall and lean. He was also quite intelligent.

He opened the compartment door and smiled, "Happy New Year, Evans."

Lily blushed a slight pink and smiled, "Oh you too, Smith."

"How was your break?" Robert asked kindly.

_Absolutely shit, but you probably don't wanna hear that – keep it simple, Lily. Simple, _the rational voice reminded her.

"It was fine," Lily shrugged. "But short."

"Agreed," smirked Robert. "Oh you know, Mundungus Fletcher, Richard Hendricks, and Luke Walters right?"

Lily knew of them, but didn't really know them. She smiled at them politely. "Hello," she said kindly.

"Oi, Evans!"

It was McKinnon's voice. She motioned for her to come over to her – she motioned to her watch on her wrist; she was telling her that it was time to get back to the Prefect carriage.

"I've got to go," Lily sighed to Robert. "I'll see you later."

"Course," Robert nodded with a smile.

Lily walked over to McKinnon and asked, "Time to go back to the prefect carriage?"

Marlene nodded, "Yup."

Lily sighed as she walked through the carriages. She was about to step into the prefect carriage, but by accidently got bumped into the glass door of a compartment.

It just so happened to be James' compartment. He was sitting alone with most of shirt unbuttoned, his tie hanging around his neck undone, and with the window open. He was smoking a cigarette coolly.

Lily sighed. No matter how cliché it was, he was good-looking.

She knocked on the door.

James turned around. When he saw Lily, James might've turned a slight shade of pink, but remained cool as he leaned back with his hands placed behind his head.

"No smoking, Potter," Lily said, but lacked clear conviction, as she opened the door and peeper her head in. She knew that despite what she said, he wouldn't stop.

"Are you going to deduct points?" James asked as he took the cigarette out of his mouth and letting out a long smoke of air.

"No," Lily said honestly. "It wouldn't be fair of me to take points from you, and not from Evie." She then raised an eyebrow as if she thought of something. "I didn't know you smoked though."

"Not often," James shrugged as he took another breath of it. "Just once a month on the third."

"The third?" Lily asked curiously.

James looked to her and then back down to the ground. "Sort of like an anniversary thing."

"Anniversary thing?" Lily asked, taken back. "When did you have a steady girlfriend all of a sudden, Potter?" She asked the last part with a scoff as she leaned against the door opening.

"Not my girlfriend." He sounded kind of sad to be honest. His tone surprised her, making Lily stand up a bit straighter as she crossed her arms. "My sister."

Lily raised her eyebrows and asked, "You have a sister?"

James let out a breath of smoke. He then looked down at the cigarette that was tucked securely between his fingers and murmured, "_Had._"

Lily's jaw dropped. Never had he mentioned a sister – the Marauders hadn't mentioned that James had a sister either. To be quite honest, Lily thought that James was an only child. She never knew he had a sister, albeit a dead one either.

"What was her name?" Lily asked softly.

"Melanie," James said softly; there was rawness in his voice. He clearly didn't want to talk about, but there was also a bit of relief coming from his voice as well.

James Potter had _feelings_.

That's new.

"She was twelve years older than me; she was twenty-two when she died," James went on coolly.

_Melanie Potter_, Lily really never heard of her, but it was a pretty name. She was also so much older than James. He must've only been ten when she died – so young… like Evie who had lost her mother. Maybe that's a reason why they were so close. They both lost someone when they were so young.

James then looked up to Lily and smiled, "Thank you, Evans."

Lily blinked, "For what?"

"For not asking how she died," James smiled.

Lily smiled back weakly. "It's not my business, is it?"

"No, but people have a natural sense to bud into other's business," shrugged James letting out another smoke of air. "It's habit for me to wait for that question."

"Do your friends know?" Lily asked.

"Sort of," shrugged James. "Sirius knows the most out of the guys– he is sleeping next to the room she once slept in. But Evie knows the most out of anyone at Hogwarts. She probably didn't come over to my place to sleep that Christmas _night _because she knew she would have to sleep in Melanie's old room."

"Evie knew her?" Lily asked.

"Yeah," James nodded. "Melanie loved her like a little sister. She would play with her as a baby. They liked to do hair and nails together." After a long moment and another breath of smoke, James sighed, "She was perfect: Gryffindor prefect, Head Girl, Quiddittch Keeper since her fourth year, NEWT classes, and went on to become an Auror. Everyone loved her."

"Do you have a picture of her?" Lily asked.

Without saying a word, James let his cigarette dangle coolly from his lips. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He filed through some knuts, sickles, galleons, and muggle bills. At the end of his search, he pulled out a photograph.

It was of a pretty young woman; she had long brown hair tied in a ponytail, hazel eyes, and light skin. She was thin and tall, but had delicate feminine curves too. She was waving at a picture sweetly and then shaking her head, laughing, as she put a cigarette to her lips. The picture then re-started.

"She smoked…?" Lily asked hesitantly.

James nodded. He then looked at her skeptically and sighed. He took the last bit of his cigarette before saying, "My parents hated that she smoked, but Mel would always say back: _Hey, everyone has their own symbol of rebellion._"

"And your symbol is the concept of pranks against the innocent?" Lily asked teasingly, but there was still an air of truth to it. She passed the picture back to him.

"Yeah, sure," laughed James, buttoning up his shirt.

Lily could feel the train slowing down. She then turned to the hallways, noticing the disappearance of prefect presence. "I gotta go, Potter. See you in the castle."

She began walking quickly down the compartment, but James called out her last name.

Lily turned around and asked, "Yes?"

James straightened his glasses, "You would've liked her a lot, Evans. And she would've liked you too."

Lily smiled and nodded, "Glad to hear it." She was about to turn around when James shouted out to her again.

"What about that date, Evans?" James asked loudly, causing everyone to stare at her uncomfortably.

Lily turned a slight pink before clenching her fists. He always has to end a bloody conversation like this, didn't he?

"I'd love to see those red knickers of yours again," James smirked proudly before giving her a very distinct wink.

"Sod off, Potter!" Lily shouted, semi-aggravated, as she turned around to walk away. And they were back at school, just like that.


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Here's another chapter. So, please take a peek and please **Review**. They truly inspire me, and they help me make sure that the fic is heading in the right direction. I want this fic not just to be a Lily and James fic, but a fic that really could coordinate with the times that they lived in while being students. So please **Review** and help a girl out :D

Asia P. 3

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_January 3__rd__, 1977 – Gryffindor Common Room: 05:45pm_

"Bloody hell," groaned Lily as she read through the _Daily Prophet_, glaring at the words. It was another opinion piece about the need for a Muggle Registration Act by some pure blood supremacist named Nathaniel Skeeter.

"More rubbish from the Skeeter family, is it?" Mary asked, coming over to sit beside Lily with Nina on her other side. She rolled her eyes when she realized that she was in fact correct. "You shouldn't read it, Lily. It always makes you angry."

"Within reason," growled Lily. She showed Mary and Nina an excerpt of the opinion piece:

"…_The Muggle Registration Act will allow the Ministry to better have a grasp on those who have completely stolen our magic from the true Wizards and Witches of the world. They deserve to come to justice for stealing what was right fully ours to begin with."_

"The bloody hell does that mean?!" Lily asked angrily.

"It's a load of bullshit, I know," revealed Mary, putting a hand on her shoulder. "It's also an opinion piece. Everyone knows that Skeeter, and his good for nothing sister, are bonkers. Don't think too much about it, Lily."

Lily sighed irritably as she rubbed the back of her neck. She looked at the clock and decided that she might as well go down to dinner anyway. She hadn't seen James or any of the other Marauders since the train.

Lily walked down to dinner and on her way to the last turn, she stopped at the sight of James Potter speaking with Dumbledore. The conversation looked quite important and serious, though Dumbledore was smiling kindly to him.

"But you do understand the predicament of the situation, right, Mr. Potter?" asked Dumbledore as they began to head to the Great Hall with a bunch of other students.

"Yes, Professor," said James with a nod. "I'll talk to them about it."

"Thank you, James," smiled Dumbledore as he patted James' on the shoulder. He walked ahead to the Teacher's table.

"You look distressed," said Lily as she walked up to James, smirking at him.

James would've said, "fuck off," to anyone else, but this was Lily. He then smirked to her and said, "I'm never distressed, Evans."

"Suuure," smiled Lily, mockingly.

At the part of the table where she normally sat, Lily and James saw Evie with the Marauders. She was laughing with them about something that it looked Sirius had said, who was also sitting next to her.

"Lily Evans walking in with James Potter," smirked Sirius. "Oh that ought to scare a couple of Team Evans members."

"Shut it, Black," hissed Lily as she sat down next Remus, across from Evie. She smiled to her friend, and Evie returned one.

She looked _fine. _

Just fine.

"Oh god, there's Sandra Dorman," whispered Evie, clearly sympathetic. "Poor thing."

Sandra Dorman was a sixth-year in Hufflepuff. She had light skin with dark brown eyes. She had straight black hair that reached her shoulders. She was one of the taller girls in the grade, probably hitting 5'9. She had thin and lean body. She was dating Gryffindor sixth year, Conner Harper.

She looked sad. Normally, Sandra was happy – always smiling or something like it. She had a happy disposition in comparison to most. But right now, her eyes were red like she had been crying, and it looked like she was so utterly pained.

"What happened to her?" Lily asked quietly, but curiously.

The table looked at her like she was mad.

"You didn't hear about it?" Peter asked softly.

"About what?" Lily asked, now very concerned.

James turned to her and said in a soft, gentle, but still sad voice, "Conner and his family were killed by Death Eaters over the break…"

Lily's hand flew to her mouth.

Conner was so sweet and a very kind student. He was a decent student, but always had good intentions. He did his homework and worked hard. Also, he and Sandra Dorman had been dating since the third year.

"No…" Lily said looking at Sandra walk with two other Hufflepuff girls: Ursula Cross and Holly Pratt.

"You didn't hear about it?" Evie asked Lily. "It was all over the Prophet a few days ago."

Despite having both parents who were wizard and witches, Mr. and Mrs. Harper were both muggle-borns.

"No, I was busy with work, trying to help around the house as much possible," revealed Lily, feeling awfully bad for not hearing anything. "I… didn't send out Blaze for my subscriptions of the _Prophet_." (Blaze is Lily's owl.)

"That's why I haven't seen Harper around or on the Express…" Lily mused softly, running her hands through her hair softly.

"And Dorman is truly cut up about it," murmured Potter, looking over his shoulder to see her stare at the food on her plate.

"Do you think she'll ever get over it?" Lily murmured.

The Marauders and Evie exchanged glances.

"No," James said shortly. He then looked to a surprised Lily and said, "Not with the way Conner used to look at her. She won't ever be able to forget that."

Thinking about it now, Lily now understood what James meant. The way Conner looked at Sandra was like a blind man seeing light for the first time, a parched man in the desert coming across water, and most clearly, a man in love. He would always smile at Sandra so lovingly, kiss her every time so her, and tell her he loved her everyday.

"They were in love," James finished, leaning forward to grab so me pumpkin juice.

"And you know what 'love' is, James?" Remus asked with a smirk.

"I'm not stupid, Remus," James smiled. "I got the concept."

"The concept and _actually_ being in love aren't the same thing though," Lily countered.

"And you've been in love?" James asked back.

"No," Lily said blatantly and shrugged. "And if I ever am in love, he better love me right back."

James let out a crooked smirk.

"I don't need a dozen roses, chocolates, or even the words, I love you every day. I just need someone to be there for me… especially in times like these."

"So, if Robert Smith were to tell you that he was in love with you," Evie smirked, "You would ruin the mood with that little speech of yours, wouldn't you, Lil?"

James nearly coughed up his drink. "Robert Smith?" He asked incredulously. "Oh come on, Evans. You can do so much better than Smith."

"Smith is perfectly fine," Lily argued as she took some more food onto her plate. "He's a gentleman, he's good looking, and he's inteliigent-"

"And a snooze." James let out a faux-yawn and patted his hand to his mouth. He smirked at Lily before giving her a wink.

"Oh just because he doesn't hex Filch's monstrosity of a cat doesn't mean that he's boring!" Lily pointed out.

"Oh come off it, Evans," sighed James. He turned over to the Ravenclaw table and scoffed, "Look, he's putting poor Walters to bed right now."

Lily and the rest of the group looked over to Robert and Luke Walters talking… actually, it was just Robert talking and Luke pretty much sleeping with his eyes open.

Everyone laughed but Lily who sighed.

"Evans," said James. "You could easily get with any guy in the school and you pick Smith? That's a waste of talent. Dorman picked Conner because he was funny _and _smart, not just book smart."

"Oh, James Potter preaching about love!" Lily laughed sardonically. "How ironic. All you want to do with your life is snog, shag, and pull pranks."

"I don't see the issue with that," Sirius murmured, somewhat offended and somewhat amused by Lily's statement.

"That's not true either," countered James. He said, "I want become an Auror, find someone one, and have a kid… have a family. That's the part that I want the most."

Lily smiled softly at that.

"But for now, the snog, shag, and pulling pranks works for me just fine, thanks," smiled James to his friends.

"Of course," Lily sighed rolling his eyes.

"That's the Prongs I know!" Sirius smiled, putting up his hand for a high five.

"Sirius," Evie countered. "You're going to find a girl that is going to make you fall so hard, you're going to get a concussion."

"I'd love to see her try," laughed Sirius.

"I'd love to see any girl try and hold us down," smiled James. He then looked back at Lily, "except you, Evans. You can hold _me _down any way you like."

"The bigger question is if I want to," scoffed Lily.

"Don't lie – you know you want a piece of Potter," smiled James.

"Critically debatable," Lily corrected him, pointing her fork at him with a playful smirk on her face. "_Critically _debatable."


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Here's another chapter! Please **review - **it means a lot to me. Thank you and enjoy!

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_January 13__th__, 1977 – Library: 05:47pm_

The next week and half passed flawlessly and calmly. Nothing drastic or dramatic happened at Hogwarts, which pleased Lily. A bit of normalcy could do everyone a bit of justice, especially for poor Emmeline Vance and Evie. They were doing better though, much better.

Evie was laughing again too, well in her own Evie way. She got back her dry sense of humor and well-played sarcasm as the days went on. Dumbledore had asked the professors to pardon Evie from work and give her leniency due to her family situation. However, no matter what, Evie managed to finish her work, take her exams, and do her essays when assigned like every other student. Lily thought it was Evie's pride and common motto, "I don't need or want your pity." She would never let anyone know that a night when no one else was up, Evie would quietly cry in the nook of the common room by herself – Lily didn't know, James didn't know, and not even Danny Crenshaw didn't know. But she was fine.

Emmeline wasn't crying as frequently, luckily teachers were giving her a bit of leniency for due dates under Dumbledore's request once again. Everyone knew that Emmeline and Conner were so in love, even the professors. She would still cry though, more openly than Evie of course. She would do it in the bathrooms, the corners of the hall, broom closests, and in the arms of her friends.

The Gryffindor Dorm was a bit different now. To balance out the Marauder pranks, there would always be kind Conner Harper to give the girls hope for a Prince Charming. Now, that was gone.

But things were getting back to normal… slowly.

Lily cleaned her quill and slid it back in her bag. She had just finished an essay for DADA on the History and power behind the Inferi. It was an interesting, but quite disturbing subject. She slid her essay into her bag and got up to head to dinner. She waved to Madame Pince as she left.

As she walked out, Lily noticed James Potter waiting outside the door. His eyes lit up when he saw her. "Oi, Evans!"

Lily sighed, "Yes, Potter?" She kept walking though towards the staircase without looking up to meet James' gaze.

"You look wonderful today, Love," James said in a charming tone, but Lily could tell there was another motive behind this.

"What do you want, Potter?" Lily asked shortly as she looked up to him.

James smirked and liked Lily's no-nonsense attitude. "Well, I know there is a rule about _drinking _in the dorms-"

"Oh Merlin…" Lily breathed irritably as she rolled her eyes.

"Just hear me out," James said, but sounded more like begging. "I know there is a rule about it, but I've already spoken with Remus, McKinnon, Crenshaw, Paterson, and Grayson. Now, I just need to talk with you."

"Ok, let's hear it then," insisted Lily.

"It's Peter's seventeenth birthday on Saturday, and the guys and I want to throw a surprise party for him," smiled James. "Like a big one, you only turn seventeen once you know."

Lily smiled sweetly. That was nice of them. She then looked up to James and said, "But you don't need alcohol for a party-"

"Oh come on, Evans," smiled James, slapping his hand against her back fairly lightly. "Live a little. We won't get _so _wasted. We want to do something fun for Peter." He then leaned in a little as if it were a secret and said, "Peter is no Sirius or me, or even Remus, so we want him to get a little action for the big day-"

"By getting all the girls in Gryffindor drunk so they can snog him?" Lily asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"Uh… Yes?"

"That's low, Potter," Lily sighed. "Pettigrew is… _nice._"

"You think Peter is nice?" James asked, clearly amused.

"Ok, no, he might not be screwing every girl in sight, but he is a _nice _person nonetheless," Lily said, trying to help Peter out.

James just kept smiling at her, so amused.

"A bit shy, ignorant, and bloody hell, does he worship you and Black like Gods, but he's a _nice _person," finished Lily.

"So, since he is a _nice _person," said James putting out a hand. "And you're a nice person –" putting out the other hand "-Why don't you do something nice for him?"

Lily sighed. She rubbed the back of her neck as they turned the corner to the Grand Hall. She then looked up at him and said, "If anyone gets so intolerably wasted that there are random shags happening, I _will _deduct points, Potter."

"Why do you think that people will fuck in public- wait did you just say yes?!" James asked in disbelief, but a mild sense of happiness.

Lily glared at him and pointed to him, "Don't make me repeat that, Potter-"

"THANK YOU, EVANS!" James shouted happily as he picked Lily up by waist and swung her around happily. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" He chanted loudly, almost scaring the under classmen.

"Ok ok! I get it!" Lily laughed, holding onto him tightly by his neck. "Now, lemme go!" Lily laughed. "Potter!"

James slowed the spinning before stopping completely. He smelt something lovely, something potent, but not overwhelming. It was a nice mixture of some floral and citrus. It was intoxicating and just Lily. She was also so… well fit. She just fit perfectly in his arms with her chest pressed against his. It was weird, but nice at the same time.

Lily noticed the feeling of James' arms around her waist. The boy had a pair of arms, not in the body builder sense, but you could easily feel the bulge of his biceps. And well, even through the Gryffindor uniform, Lily could also feel his sculpted chest. She could feel the outlines of his chest – that's how tightly he was holding her.

Lily pulled back so now they were face-to-face. Their noses were almost touching, and they can feel the heat of each other's breath.

She never noticed how handsome James actually was. His eyes were beautiful to say the least – a warm hazel color that she could just sink into.

Since he was 11, James had always know that Lily Evans was pretty. Everyone _knew _that Lily Evans was pretty. It was common knowledge for Hogwarts students. Her fire-red hair, her sweet smile, and her gorgeous emerald eyes. But right now, there was something even more _beautiful _about Lily. He could put a finger on it, but she was mesmerizing.

"You can put her down anytime you want, Prongs," teased Sirius as he walked by with Evie, Remus, and Peter.

"Oh right," James said as he gently dropped Lily onto her feet. "By the way, thanks, Evans."

Lily blushed at the floor and then tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Right, no problem," Lily nodded with a small smile. She then ran ahead with Evie.

Evie leaned into her friend and whispered softly and teasingly, "Honey, you're oozing _blush_."

"What?!" Lily asked incredulously. "No I'm not!"

"Why're you shouting?" Evie cringed, but still smiling like a troll.

"I'm not blushing," Lily frowned as she crossed her arms. "He just held me so tightly that… the blood, you know, rushed to, like, my face! That's it!"

"Oh sure," Evie scoffed with a smirk. "Did he also squeeze all of the juices out of you because I know your knickers have got to be soaking wet-"

"EVIE!" Lily shouted as Evie sniggered.

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_January 15__th__, 1977 – The Grand Staircase: 07:24pm_

Peter Pettigrew hadn't seen his friends all day.

James had all day Quiddittch practice - apparently they needed it so badly after break in an attempt to beat down Slytherin. Sirius was apparently meeting up with pretty Ravenclaw 5th year, Mia Mopps, for you know what. Remus had a prefect meeting in the morning, and he was going out to Hogsmeade with Hufflepuff's Dorcas Meadowes for a casual study date.

So Peter was alone all day. It was upsetting that he was alone on his own birthday. However, his parents sent him his card like every year with some cash and a new Sweater that Peter loved. He then, pathetically, decided that he should start that History paper on the 1856 Goblin Rebellions, despite how boring it was.

Peter thought that after Dinner, the guys would be game to do something. Anything! But alas no.

James said he had to meet up with Holly Pratt again, and Sirius and Remus had to take care of some girl business. They immediately disappeared again once dinner was done. But Lily and Evie decided to stay with him.

"Thank you for staying with me, you guys," said Peter, blushing slightly as he looked down towards the ground. They were on the steps of the Grand Staircase.

"Of course," Lily smiled, clapping Peter's back.

"Yeah," Evie smiled. "I'm sorry that James and them couldn't hang out with you on your seventeenth."

"It's ok," Peter shrugged. "They were busy."

"Oh, but Pettigrew!" Lily said as she latched onto his arm. "It's your seventeenth! It's important! You're of age! They should be here!"

Peter blushed again once Lily latched onto his arm – Evie did the same. They both giggled.

"You know," Evie said in a flirtacious tone. "Why don't _we _drop down our books back at the dorm, and then _we _can go steal some treats from the Kitchen. Just the three of us!"

Peter smiled, "Oh ok. That'd be cool."

"Perfect," Lily smiled as she clapped her hands together.

Lily and Evie then exchanged smirks behind Pettigrew's back.

Lily and Evie didn't know how James, Sirius, and Remus managed to coax them into their plan. They told them to hold off Peter until 7:30, and then bring him into the common room for the surprise party.

Lily looked down at her watch and noticed that it now read 7:28. She tugged Peter towards the portrait of the Fat Lady. "Majoria Plank!" Lily said to the lady.

The lady immediately opened up her door, allowing the three sixth years into the common room. It was uncommonly quiet in there and no one was in there at all. Normally, it was packed. People playing Exploding Snap, doing homework, and just hanging out with friends.

But it was empty.

"Why is no one here…?" Peter asked softly. He turned around and noticed that Lily and Evie were gone too. "What's happening-"

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PETER!"

Poor Peter nearly soiled himself.

Almost all of the upper classmen of the Gryffindor House jumped out from behind desks, couches, chairs, curtains with confetti and charms to make mini-fireworks. A big banner by the staircase to the dorms fell from thin air and read: HAPPY 17TH PETER!

It was lovely.

"Merlin!" Peter shouted.

"Happy Birthday, Wormtail!" James said, jumping from behind.

"Happy Birthday, Mate!" Sirius shouted, throwing confetti into his face.

"Happy Birthday, Peter!" Remus smiled, clapping his hand on the back.

Peter looked around to the people, still shouting and laughing. Someone put on the record player and played some classic rock music. He smiled and then looked at his friends, "You did this for me?"

"Of course we did," Sirius laughed.

"You're a Marauder," smiled Remus.

"Sorry we were acting like pricks all day, but we had to keep you away to prep for this party for you," said James. He took four shots had earlier prepared of Firewhiskey. "Now drink up, Mate. Come on, we got a long night ahead of us!"

Each Marauder took a shot of firewhiskey.

"Long live the Marauders!" Peter shouted, hoisting his drink into the air.

"Here here!" The three other boys shouted before they all shot down the drink.

The boys let out a shiver, but that didn't stop them from taking more.

The night went on splendidly. Peter was having the time of his life, and so were the Marauders. They were drinking, laughing, and now Peter Pettigrew was talking fifth year, Colette Colt, quite intimately.

Lily was sitting in the nook, watching Evie, Sirius, James, Danny, Remus, and Paul Paterson play Kings.

"Haha, I told you couldn't do it, Danny- Oh fuck me!" Evie shouted as she groaned. She threw back a shot of Firewhiskey down her throat. She cringed at the taste and let out a loud sigh after it was down. "Bloody hell."

"Haha!" Sirius laughed in her face – clearly drunk. "Good try, Williams!"

They were playing a rule where they could only call each other by their last names; otherwise they'd have to take a shot. It was quite funny actually.

James stood up, quite straightly actually. He had a good deal of shots, but still managed to appear quite sober. He went over to sit beside Lily in the nook.

"You're not drunk are you?" Lily asked.

"Um," James said as he poured a combination of pumpkin juice and firewhiskey into his glass, "I'm actually pretty fucking drunk."

"Oh good," Lily laughed.

"Here have some," James said as he pushed the drink into her hand.

"No no," She said as she shook her head. "I don't want to."

"You don't drink?"

"Not really," Lily said honestly. "I've never tried Firewhiskey before."

"Oh come on, Evans – it's a hell of a ride," smiled James. He took a shot glass for him and one for her. He poured some firewhiskey into both. "Just try. It's fun."

"This is peer pressure," sighed Lily as she took it. "Just one though, Potter."

"Fair enough," James nodded. "On three: One, two, three!"

James and Lily poured the firewhiskey into their mouths. Once Lily drank all of hers, she screamed. Her face cringed and she shook her body. She dropped her glass into James' hand and began to squeal. She then began jumping up and down as a way to stop the liquor from burning her throat.

James laughed at her as she did so. It was kind of cute.

"Potter!" Lily groaned, still jumping and flailing her hands wildly as if she were trying to fly. "It's burning my throat! AH!"

"That's why it's called Firewhiskey, Sweetheart," laughed James.

"All right, fine," Lily said as she shook her head quickly. She got over it and motioned for another. "Fuck it, give me another."

"Wait did you just curse?!" James laughed as he pointed a finger at her. "Holy Merlin! You cursed!"

"Stop it, Potter!"

James stood up on the cushioned bench. "OI!" James said as he clapped his hands together. "I have an announcement!"

The room stopped talking, and Lily immediately hid her face into her hands.

"LILY EVANS JUST USED A PROFANE WORD!" James shouted. "INNOCENT EVANS USED THE WORD, FUCK!"

The whole room began clapping and wolf-calling for Lily. She smiled and then took a bow. "Now pass me the bloody bottle."

Sirius, out of pure admiration for the about-to-be-drunk Lily Evans, passed her a ¼ filled bottle of Firewhiskey.

Lily thanked him and shouted to the room, "Now, I'm going to drink the rest of this bottle in one shot-"

"Bullshit!" Evie shouted. "Danny and I are avid drinkers, and we can't even do that!"

"Yeah, fuck me and call me Sally if I did," laughed Danny.

Lily motioned for James to come down, which he did so. Lily got up onto the cushioned and said, "Ok, Happy Birthday Peter! Who thinks that I can't do this?"

Everyone raised their hand.

"Who wants to make a bet?!"

"If you drink all of that," James shouted. "I'll help you date Ravenclaw snooze alert."

"He's not boring- Wait, you will?" Lily asked in a much more serious voice as she stared down James.

"I am a man of my word," smirked James. "If you drink it all, I _promise _to help you with Ravenclaw boy."

"And if I don't?" Lily asked skeptically.

"Then you _have _to give me a kiss."

The room filled with oohs and ahs. Everyone knew James Potter wanted a kiss from Lily Evans since they were in their 3rd year.

"Deal!" Lily said confidently – it was clearly the Firewhiskey doing its job.

"Oh lord," laughed Evie.

"This is going to be good," Sirius smirked.

Lily looked at the bottle and sighed. She closed her eyes and poured down the Firewhiskey. And she drank every single drop. Nothing was left.

"Oh shit," Evie scoffed and began clapping for her best friend. The room clapped their hands as Lily pulled the bottle away from her mouth.

She then cringed and let a shiver run through her body. She then showed the bottle and smiled. Oh, she was going to be _so_ drunk.

She hopped down from the cushioned bench and almost fell, but James caught her balance.

"That was fucking impressive," James laughed. "That makes up for not kissing me."

Lily giggled. There was a distinct red blush coming from her cheeks. She then smiled at him with a clear ulterior motive in mind. "Well, Potter, since I'm a nice bitch, I guess, you're lucky tonight."

James looked at her quizzically, "What'd you mean-"

Lily pulled him by his collar, almost scaring the living daylights out of him. She pulled him down and pressed her lips to his.

James had been waiting for this day since… what, third year? He dreamed about this – feeling Lily Evans' lips against his. They were everything he imagined to be honest. They were soft, warm, gentle… but abnormally hot due to the alcohol. No matter how much he enjoyed this moment that he had waited so long for, James still reminded himself that she was only doing this because she was shit-faced drunk.

"Get it, Prongs!" Sirius laughed.

Lily pulled back and said as she bowed, "You're welcome! I know you wanted that for a while and there it is!"

The room clapped wildly.

"That's my girl," Evie laughed as Lily stumbled over to her.

James just stood there dumbfounded. He couldn't forget now. How was he ever supposed to be satisfied with someone else now? This was going to be problematic because in the morning, she won't remember because she's too bloody gone for it to have meant anything to her.

So he'll pretend like it never happened.

The night went on accordingly. People drank to their hearts' desire, and someone was going to definitely throw up by the end of the night. It was so much fun though.

But by three in the morning, McKinnon and Danny shut it down. They began to force everyone back to their dorm rooms.

"Oh, Evans passed out," sighed Danny noted, pointing to Lily on the couch. She was curled up by a pillow, sleeping peacefully and snoring lightly.

"I got her," said Evie, stumbling slightly over to hr.

"No, you're pretty fucking smashed, Evie," laughed James. "Sirius, help her to the dorm stairs."

"Got cha!" Sirius helped Evie to the stairs and began walking up with them. She walked uneasily, but they both did together.

In one swift motion, James lifted Lily into a cradle position. He walked with her slowly up the spiral stairs. He knocked on the girls' dormitory doors.

Mary MacDonald appeared. "Oh no," Mary laughed lightly.

"Yeah, and I know the charm that's placed on the dormitory for boys entering the girls' dorm," said James.

"I'll get Sophie Spunk, she's strong," revealed Mary.

Mary disappeared momentarily, leaving James with Lily. James looked down at Lily who was sleeping peacefully, like an angel almost. She looked so at peace in comparison to her laughing and giggling like an idiot when she was drunk.

In her sleep, Lily snuggled closer into James' chest.

Sophie spunk was a tall and muscular 4th year with dark hair and big blue eyes. She motioned for Lily, and even though, James didn't want to, he let go of Lily and into Sophie's hands.

"Thanks, Potter," smiled Mary as Sophie brought Lily in the girls' dorms. "Oh and can you tell Evie that I'm not going to help her if she comes back in so drunk that she can't walk."

"She's not in there?" James asked.

"Nope," said Mary.

"Oh… ok," James said. "Night, MacDonald."

"Night, Potter."

James walked over to the Boys' dorm and noticed that right outside, Evie and Sirius were… _snogging_. Sirius had her pinned against the wall with his hands securely grabbing her hips as her legs wrapped around his waist, securely. Her arms were wrapped around his neck. Their lips were smashed together furiously.

"Oh… fun," James murmured. He walked past them and said, "Need a condom, Sirius?"

"Fuck off, James," they both groaned into their kiss.

James laughed as he walked back in. Remus was putting on a sleeping shirt, while Peter was sprawled out on his bed, fast asleep.

"So, you got what you wanted after all these years," smirked Remus as James began changing into his sleeping clothes. "Evans finally kissed your sorry arse."

"She did, but it wasn't how I wanted it," sighed James.

"Beggars can't be choosers," countered Remus.

"I'm not a beggar," James snapped. "But come on, she was so clearly smashed that's she not going to remember. And hell, now I have to help her get with Robert Smith."

"She won't remember that either then."

"You know I keep my word, Remus," sighed James as he sat down on his bed. "I have to."

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So they smooched. **Reviews? Love'em!**


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Here's another chapter! Thank you for the reviews - they mean so much, so keep going! Love you guys! Enjoy!

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_January 16__th__, 1976 – Gryffindor's 6__th__ Year Girls' Dorm: 11:45am_

Lily woke up with a blistering headache; it pounded harshly and it felt like someone was drilling into her head. She snuggled more closely to her sheets and pillow, attempting the sun from shining on her face. She felt like she had died a bit. To be honest, she felt like shit.

"Oi," Mary said, pushing her hand to Lily's shoulder.

Lily groaned and motioned for Mary to go away.

"Come on, Lily!" Mary insisted in a breathy, irritated voice. "It's almost lunch time."

Lily sat up slowly and asked in a groggy tone, "What time is it?"

"It's 11:46 in the morning, Lily," Nina revealed.

"Bloody hell," Lily moaned as she let her head fall back. She rubbed her forehead and murmured, "I feel like dying."

"It's called a hangover, Lily," smiled Evie from the windowsill. She was sitting in her uniform (ready for Lunch) with a lit cigarette in hand and a pair of shades over her eyes. She breathed out a large puff of smoke upward. She must've had her fair share of a hangover as well, Lily decided mentally.

"Yeah," Lily murmured as she got up. "It sucks. What happened last night?"

The three girls stared down Lily as if she were crazy.

"What?"

"You don't remember anything?" Mary asked, amazed.

"Not really," murmured Lily as she reached out for her uniform. "Everything is foggy."

Nina and Mary exchanged awkward glances as Evie let out a loud amused laugh. Lily frowned at her best friend and said, "Out with it, Evie."

Evie almost fell off the windowsill because she was laughing so hard. You could see the tears formulate in her tear-ducts. She was clenching her stomach for support. "Oh, lord. Wait, give me a minute- Oh, that's perfect. I'm done!"

"Oh leave her alone," Mary said as she pushed Evie's shoulder. "Do you remember that you _almost_ shagged Sirius Black?"

"WHAT?!" Lily shouted. Her voice was so loud that even she cringed (damn hangover) at her loudness. Her eyes were wide and her jaw dropped. She pointed at Evie and said, "You almost shagged Sirius Black?!"

"Almost being the _operative _word," Evie said coolly.

"But there was intention!" Lily shouted.

"Not really," Evie shrugged.

"Poor Potter and Lupin had to nearly rip Black off of you, Evie," countered Nina with a small giggle.

"Yeah, apparently they got tired of hearing the noises outside of the bedroom," laughed Mary.

"Shut it," Evie snapped.

"Oh lord," Lily sighed. "What else happened, did I do anything stupid?"

Evie smirked before breathing another portion of cig. Letting out the air, Evie added, "Depends how you define stupid?"

"Tell me everything."

"Well, your first not-so-bright action of the evening was drinking a whole ¼ of Firewhiskey for your first time drinking," Evie said as she put up a finger, counting the idiotic things Lily did.

"Oh damn," hissed Lily.

"It was actually quite impressive – I can't even do it," Evie said proudly. "Not the point though." She put up a second finger and said, "My personal favorite was that you made some sort of bet with Potter that you couldn't do it. I don't remember the exact details of it, but somehow you beat him. Then, you laughed because you did and kissed him."

"I… _Kissed _Potter?!"

The girls nodded.

"You sure it wasn't the other way around?" Lily asked hopefully. She grabbed her toothbrush, squirted some water, and then toothpaste on it. She began to brush her teeth impatiently, trying to get out morning breath and perhaps, essence of Potter as well (even though the firewhiskey would've taken care of that, Lily had to be sure).

"Honey, you grabbed him by the collar and shoved your lips against his," Evie said, tilting down her shades to her. "_You _were the one who initiated the kiss."

"Oh no…" Lily groaned as she crouched down and wrapped her arms over her head. "He's never going to let me live this down." She then looked up at her friends and asked as she took the toothbrush out of her mouth, "Nothing else too drastic?"

"In comparison to that, no," Nina revealed.

"Oh thank goodness," Lily sighed. She then leaned back to sit on the floor as she slid on her socks. "I just can't ever look at James Potter in the face again. _Perfect_."

Evie took her shades off and popped two pain-killers into her mouth. She poured some water down her throat and said, "All right. I need some food. Let's get something to eat, Lily."

"Ok," Lily said as she slid her shoes on. She took some of Evie's water and swished it around her mouth before running into the girls' bathroom and spitting into the sink.

Evie waited for her so that they could walk down together. Once they walked out of the girls' area and out the door, the last person that Lily wanted to see was there.

James Potter.

"Shit," Lily groaned simply.

"Morning, Sunshine," James smiled cockily.

"Sod off, Potter," Lily seethed as she continued to walk down the stairs with Evie. "I've got a hangover and I'm not in the mood for your jokes."

"OK, sure," shrugged James, running to her other side. "But I still got to pay my part of the bet."

"What was your part of the bet?" Lily asked curiously.

"You don't remember?" James asked.

"She blacked out… hard," Evie revealed. James nodded his head understandingly; he knew from first hand experience the pain that came with.

"Well, Evans," James said as he straightened his tie. "I promised to help you get with Robert Smith."

Lily stopped her in track and asked, amazed, "I agreed to that?"

"Yeah," chuckled James. "You seemed pretty excited too."

"Oh dammit," Lily groaned. She wiped her brow and said after a long moment, "Well, Potter, I actually don't need your help at all. I'm perfectly capable of this myself."

"_Right,_" James said raising his eyebrows. He then stopped Lily, by grabbing her to halt. He motioned for Evie to keep moving, which Evie simply shrugged indifferently to. "Either way, I made a promise and I intend to keep it."

Lily looked at him skeptically. "Or you're going to screw this all up for me because you want to get with me instead."

"Evans," James sighed as he shook his head. "I might be a douchebag, a player, and a _Marauder_, but if I had to pick one adjective to describe myself, it's loyal. Loyal to my word as well. Ok? So I'm keeping this promise either way, even if I would like that date with you."

Lily stood back and frowned.

"Now to start it off," James sighed as he pulled something out of his pocket. "Your fucking eyes, Evans. They're gorgeous, but you're so bloody hung over that they're bloodshot beyond belief. Here's some eye drops."

James passed her a small bottle of eye drops. Lily looked at it for a moment before asking him to his face:

"You're fucking serious?"

James raised an eyebrow. "Unless you want to walk right into Lunch with eyes the color of your hair, which is... disheveled too."

Lily groaned and leaned her head back. She quickly poured two drops into each eye and blinked rapidly. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"See?" James smirked. "Already better. But God, your hair."

"You sound like a girl," Lily teased. "Evie doesn't even sound like this."

"First off," James said as he began to flatten Lily's hair with his hands in an attempt to get all of the fraying strands to go down, "Evie's balls will drop one day; she's a man at heart. And secondly, I've been with my fair share of girls to know their fucking tricks in getting with guys."

Lily laughed lowly. She then moved James' hands and motioned him to move backwards. She flipped her hair forward and brushed it quickly with her fingers at a quick pace that somewhat impressed James. She then flipped it back and shuffled her hair to her left side.

James bit his lower lip at the sight. It looked messy, but in a very sensual sense. It looked like she had just woken up from a good night of sex in the most perfect way possible-

"Decent?"

"Uh… Yeah," James nodded, coughing into a fist and looking in the other direction.

"Can we go eat now?" Lily pouted prettily, trying to mock him.

James nodded as they walked down the final steps of the Grand Staircase. Before they reached the entranced, both noticed that Robert Smith was talking with some Ravenclaw guys.

James leaned in and whispered, "Laugh."

"What?" Lily asked, looking at him if he were stupid.

"Just do it, pretend I said something actually funny," said James.

"You aren't funny though," frowned Lily.

James rolled his eyes, "Just because you can't see my brilliant sense of humor doesn't mean I don't have it, Evans."

Naturally, Lily let out a small, but pretty laugh-scoff. She covered a hand over her mouth and giggled. It was a sweet one.

Robert Smith looked over his shoulder to see Lily Evans, laughing down the walkway of the aisle. She looked so pretty, so natural. Like an angel.

James noticed Robert's staring. He then leaned into Lily and said quickly, "Now, Smith is going to say hi or something, but don't say hi back. Just nod in acknowledgment."

"How do you know?"

"I just do," snapped James softly. "Now, do what I say – just nod and smile politely."

"Why?" Lily asked curiously.

"Because it makes you look unavailable," revealed James shortly and impatiently, but acting as if he were having a lovely conversation with Evans (to make Smith notice her).

"But I am available-"

"I know," James interrupted with a sense of aggravation clearly in his tone. "But guys like a bit of a chase. Ok, game time: one, two, three-"

"Afternoon, Evans," Robert said charmingly to her with a wonderful smile.

Lily doubted James' advice – she didn't want to see like an unavailable bitch. But, ugh, she'd try.

Lily looked her way over to Robert and smirked with a head nod, acknowledging his presence like James had said. She then turned back to James and said as if they were actually having a normal conversation, "Of course, _James._"

James smirked at her before they both sat down across from their normal people. Evie was sitting next to Remus, who was also next to Peter. "That was pretty good."

"I feel like such a bitch," murmured Lily.

"Well don't," James insisted. "Because he's looking at you."

"Really?" Lily asked hopefully. She was about to turn when James put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"Don't look – that would defeat the purpose of not responding, just trust me he is."

Lily frowned. She crossed her arms and looked over to Evie and asked, "Is Smith looking at me?"

Evie looked past her and nodded, "Yeah, very closely. He looks… _intrigued _to say the least."

"I'm good at this," smirked James, smiling brightly.

"You're not going to fuck this up for me, Potter?" Lily asked skeptically, almost as if she were interrogating him.

"I am a man of my word."

"Fine," she put out a hand. "We're not friends… but, partners?"

"Glad to work with you, Lily," said James, shaking her hand.

"Likewise, James," Lily said, having a bit of trouble saying his first name. They smiled at one another in a professional manner.

Sirius came down the aisle and then sat on the other side of James. He had a massive hangover like Lily. He was rubbing his head and groaned.

"How're you holding up, Black?" Remus laughed.

"Shut up," he groaned as he looked up. He noticed Evie, eating her lunch and looking at her plate. He smirked and said in his most charming voice he could muster, "Morning, Williams."

Evie looked up and raised an eyebrow. She let a soft smirk fall on her lips, "It's the afternoon, Black, but hey."

"Did you have nice dreams about me?" Sirius asked, causing everyone with them to snicker and guffaw.

"You wish," Evie scoffed. "Was I in your dreams?"

"No-"

"Yes," laughed Remus. "He had to change the sheets."

Lily covered her mouth in embarrassment as the guys (all, but Sirius) laughed at Remus' joke. Evie simply raised her eyebrows as she went back to eat.

"That's funny, but it's not true," Sirius said quickly. "Come on guys, tell her that it was a joke. Go on, tell Williams it was a joke."

None of the guys said anything as they just went back to their meals.

"Guys!" Sirius shouted in disbelief. The guys just laughed simply as Sirius groaned, "This is bullocks."

Lily then turned to James and said in a soft embarrassed voice, "Also, about that kiss…"

James turned to her and said in a bit of a sigh, "Don't worry about it. You were drunk off your ass. I know, Lily."

"Oh ok… Good," said Lily with a stern nod. "Just wanted to make that clear."

"You could always give me another one to make me feel better," James grinned devilishly.

Lily pushed him to the side slightly and said, "Don't get cocky, James – and what is with this first name business?"

"We're partners now, I'm calling you Lily from now on," James said as if it were obvious. "And you're calling me, James."

"And if I disagree?"

"You don't though."

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	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

HAPPY EASTER! Also, here's another chapter. Please Review and Enjoy :D

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_January 20__th__, 1977 – Transfiguration Classroom: 08:56am_

"Do you really think that James could help me out with Smith?"

For the past few days, James had actually been very helpful with Smith. But Lily had been waiting for the day for it all to come spiraling down; she just had this uncanny feeling.

Evie shrugged as she ruffled her hair back. "I mean, I think so," revealed Evie. "He knows the male mind and the female mind. Also, he's good at knowing what a guy wants – I mean, every girl in Hogwarts wants him, Sirius, or Remus."

"Do you think he'd screw me over?" Lily asked cautiously.

"When James says he keeps his word," Evie said in a voice as she looked to her friend. "He keeps it."

Something in Evie's voice sounded so reassuring. She knew what she was talking about. And Evie had known James for so long that Lily just knew that Evie was right about him.

Lily and Evie took their normal seats in the middle column, third row. Lily took out her homework, her quill, and her notebook. In a row behind her and a column to the left, Lily saw that Smith and Walters had arrived. She immediately stiffened and then turned back to the front of the room. "What do I do?" Lily asked Evie urgently. "Smith just got here."

Evie turned around and noticed that he was watching both her and Lily, but mostly Lily. She then turned back around and shrugged, "The bloody hell if I know."

"Oh come on, Evie," begged Lily, tugging on her robes. "You're good at flirting. _Effortless _flirting."

"I don't flirt with the guys I sleep with. It's like a business with them: You want sex, and I want sex. Done." Evie retorted. She then looked around the room. "Where's James when you need him anyway?"

"Late as always," Lily growled.

Walking in on time as always (on the dot actually), Remus walked in. He took his seat behind Evie and pulled out his books. "Lupin, have you seen James?" Lily asked quickly.

"Haven't seen him since breakfast," Remus revealed casually. "He's probably hexing something or more likely, _someone._"

"Probably," Lily agreed teasingly.

"Ok class," said McGonagall. "Please pass up the homework from last class. I will grade it and hand it back next class."

Lily passed up hers, Evie's, and Remus' up to the two other students in front of them when a loud burst came from the back of the room.

"Oh glad you made it, Mr. Pettigrew, Mr. Black, and Mr. Potter," McGonagall said mockingly.

"It's better, Professor," said Sirius as he put a finger; he was so completely out of breath. "We're only _two_ minutes late this time!"

"I'm _very _proud," McGonagall hissed. "To your seats and pass up the homework I assigned last class."

James took his place right next to Lupin, flipped open his notebook, and ripped out his homework (causing to McGonagall to roll her eyes and mutter under her breath, _"Better be written perfectly"_).

"Oi, Lily," James whispered.

Lily turned around and took his homework. She passed it to the front and raised an eyebrow.

"Did you say anything to Smith?"

Lily turned a slight pink and whispered back, hoping she didn't fuck everything up, and asked, "Was I supposed to?"

"No? Perfect," smiled James with a nod.

"It feels like I'm just ignoring him," revealed Lily.

"No, no," James said. "You're giving him a bit of run for his money. It'll be better like this."

"You better be right."

"I am always right."

"That's bullshit."

"No, it's real shit-"

McGonagall cleared her throat loudly and then asked, "If Mr. Potter and Miss Evans could stop chatting, I'd love to start the lesson sometime today."

Lily apologized as James simply smiled charmingly at the professor.

James tapped Lily's shoulder when they were supposed to be practicing the Bird Conjuring Charm. "So, Smith is staring at you," he said casually. "Move your hair to your right shoulder."

"Why?"

"Must you question every bloody thing I tell you to do, Woman?" James snapped.

"Ok," Lily said defensively. "Fine." She collected all of her hair and in one smooth motion, she moved it all to her right shoulder. You could now see the creamy light skin of her neck.

James even straightened a little. He wondered what it would be like to kiss her neck. Was her skin just as soft as her lips-?

_Merlin, come on, Potter, cool it, _James' practical voice snapped him back into reality.

"Good," James commented. "Now, turn back casually. You're going to make eye-contact with Smith. Don't say hi, but just wave."

"Ok…" Lily mumbled. She turned her back around slightly and noticed that Smith was looking at her. When the two made eye-contact, he sat a little straighter, embarrassed for staring.

Lily smiled softly and gave him a small, but kind wave.

Smith gulped before doing the same, but was interrupted by Walters' feather falling down into his face, making him sneeze.

"Oof," Sirius laughed loudly. "Bad luck, Mate."

Lily giggled lightly and then turned back to her work.

"How was that?" Lily asked without looking back.

"Perfect," James said proudly. "You're getting better at this. Maybe one day you can do it without my proper leading-"

"Oh fuck off," hissed Lily.

"So sassy-"

"Mr. Potter," sighed McGonagall as she walked over to him and Remus. "Would you like to stop flirting with Miss Evans and show me the progress on your charm?"

James leaned back in his seat and smiled, "I'd love to, Professor."

Just like the textbook had said to, James did two smooth bumps with his wand, from left to right and said, "_Avis!"_

Out of James' wand, a loud gunshot sound occurred, causing every girl and some guys to scream at the noise. Smoke appeared around James' wand and within seconds of the smoke disappearing, a flock of different colored birds flew out and began flying around the room.

He did the spell perfectly.

Lily rolled her eyes, even though most of the room clapped.

"Well done, Potter," smiled McGonagall, watching the birds approvingly. "Ten points to Gryffindor."

"That's how it's done, Mate," Sirius said as he clapped James' back.

"Show off," growled Lily.

"All right, everyone," said McGonagall, noticing the time. "Let's start cleaning up feathers before the bell rings-"

_RING~!_

McGonagall sighed, "All right, clean up your things. I will see you next class. Remember to do your homework!"

The students gathered their books and moved onto their next class. The Gryffindor sixth years now had Potions. They began heading down towards the basement when Lily heard her last name.

"Oi, Evans!"

It was Smith's voice.

James turned back to her and said, "He might ask you to Hogsmeade for the weekend trip – say no, maybe another time." He was about to walk off, but Lily pulled him back.

"How do you know these things?!" Lily asked incredulously.

"I'm a guy, Lily," James said coolly, ruffling his hair back like he had just hopped off of his broomstick. "I just do." He then stalked off with Sirius, Remus, Peter, and Evie to the next class.

Lily gulped before turning around and said, "Yes?"

"Um, hey," Smith said softly.

"Hi," Lily said, smiling at Smith's shyness. It was kind of endearing.

"Oh – you left this," said Robert. It was Lily's quill.

"Oh thank you!" Lily smiled as she took it from him. "I would've been looking all over for it in Potions."

"Yeah, no problem," smiled Robert. He then rubbed the back of his neck. "Um, I was wondering if you wanted to go to Hogsmeade this weekend with me? Like a date?"

_Bloody hell, James, _cursed Lily. _How do you do it?_

Lily chewed her lower lip for a moment. She looked down and said in sorry tone, "I'm sorry, Smith. I can't this weekend – I already promised to help Evie with something. Maybe another time?"

Robert looked disappointed.

_Fuck, Potter, this better work, _Lily mentally groaned.

"Ok, maybe another time," smiled Robert.

"I _am_ sorry, Smith."

"Don't stress," Robert said with a smile, shaking his head. He put a hand on her shoulder and said, "Next time."

"Ok," Lily laughed. She began backing up and waved. She then turned around and ran off to her next class.

She caught up with James and the gang. She pushed him by the shoulder and said, "You better know what you're doing, Potter. I can't believe I just rejected a date from him."

"You've got to have some faith in me, Lily," smirked James, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I know how to do this."

Lily looked at him appraisingly. She then stalked off after Evie.

Once she was gone from a hearing range, Sirius looked over to his best friend. "You sure you're okay with this?"

"Ok with what?" James asked as he leaned against the wall outside of the Potions classroom.

"Helping Lily to get with Smith?" Sirius asked as if it were obvious.

"Yeah," shrugged James. "I made a deal with her, didn't I?"

"That doesn't mean you're cool with it," countered Remus.

"Guys, I'm fine, really," revealed James, knowing he was lying to his friends' faces. He actually hated this and wanted to stop, but he promised her. And breaking this promise would go against his one moral code, and breaking a promise to Lily just didn't seem like a good idea.

* * *

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	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Here's another chapter. Review and Enjoy! And thank you for the follows, favorites, and reviews - they mean a lot!

* * *

_January 22nd__, 1977 – Gryffindor Common Room: 01:01am_

"EVANS!"

Lily woke up and sat up. It was Marlene McKinnon, trying to wake her up.

"What's wrong?" Lily asked.

McKinnon was wearing a long Jersey with her long blond hair tied up. It looked like she had just woken up.

"Get up now," demanded McKinnon. "Something has happened – we are to get all of the students to the Grand Hall. OI, WILLIAMS! MACDONALD! HWANG! KANE! Get up!"

"Fuck off, McKinnon," hissed Evie, shoving a pillow over her head deeper into her pillow - face first.

"What happened?" Lily asked as she slipped on some socks on.

McKinnon said hesitantly, "Dementors… in the castle and all over the grounds. Hundreds of them."

Lily gulped and said, "Oh god."

"I know," said McKinnon. "Now, I need you to help take the younger kids to the Great Hall - Stop, you don't have time to put on proper clothing or robes. Just get downstairs and wake up the other kids – Merlin, GET UP, WILLIAMS!"

"The bloody hell are you doing in here anyway? It's one in the morning!" Evie groaned as she got up.

"Dementors are in the castle and on the grounds!" Lily shouted. "Now, get up."

Evie's eyes widened. "Dementors?" she asked quietly, concerned and confused.

"A shitload too," revealed McKinnon. "Come on."

Mary, Nina, and Tyler woke up slowly too, but McKinnon continuously tried to wake up the rest of them as Lily ran down the stairs, not bothering to change. (She was wearing a gray long sleeved and plaid pink sleeping shorts with tall crew socks.)

"Lupin!" Lily called out. She ran down the stairs, past the scared and shouting students. Remus was wearing a white sleeping shirt and a pair of black sweats.

"Evans," Remus said. "Crenshaw told us to take the younger kids downstairs to the Great Hall. Grayson and Paterson took the first years already."

"But the dementors are in the castle," said Lily. "Can they work a patronus properly?"

"McGonagall went with them too," revealed Remus.

"Oi, you two," Danny called out. He was in a black sleeping shirt and a pair of gray sleeping pants. "We need to get the kids downstairs. And there are no more teachers left. Can either of you work a decent patronus? You know, just in case."

Lily and Remus exchanged glances.

"It's decent, but not a form yet, but I don't know if it can protect forty kids," revealed Remus.

"Mine can shape, but it doesn't work all the time," said Lily.

Danny sighed, "It's better than nothing. Take the second, third, and fourth years with you. Bring them to the most direct route to the Grand Hall. If you see a dementor, get the kids out and use the patronus."

"Ok," Remus and Lily said together.

Lily turned around and got onto one of the chairs. This was not a time to mess around for her. "Oi!" Lily shouted.

The kids turned around to look at Lily.

"I need second, third, and fourth years to line up with Lupin and me. Fifth, sixth, and seventh years – Crenshaw and McKinnon will go down with all of you."

A bunch of kids rushed up to the front. Lupin and Lily counted to make sure that they had all thirty students. They were about to leave when McKinnon called out to them.

"Wait, Lupin! Go to the back! Potter, you can do a Patronus, you say? Go with Evans in front," called out McKinnon.

Lupin walked back over to the back of the line of the kids, while James jogged over to Lily.

Lily gulped and blushed when she saw James.

When you say that Potter was a minimalist, you could definitely see it in his pajama selection. He simply wore a pair of gray sweat pants and a white wife beater. You could see the outline of his pectorals and his biceps perfectly. He was rubbing his glasses against his wife-beater.

_Bloody Hell, Evans, _cursed Lily. _We're in a crisis and all you can do is stare at James Potter like one of his fucking fan girls. Get a grip!_

"Let's go," James said as he put on his glasses.

"Ok," said Lily as she pushed the door open. "Stay in line," Lily ordered the kids.

James and Lily quickly walked through and down the main staircase. It was eerie and daunting. It was not a place that Lily truly wanted to be.

"Dementors in the castle… how?" Lily wondered out loud.

"I don't get it either," James went on. "Dementors are controlled by the ministry. Why would they send them to Hogwarts?"

A strange feeling hit the air – like darkness filled everything. It felt cold too, like one's insides were freezing. Lily had never felt like this before, and she wouldn't call it a pleasing feeling.

"Shit…" James muttered. He turned to the kids and said to them, "Move quickly."

James and Lily began moving faster down the stairs, but something happened. Right when James and Lily hit the third floor, the staircase moved right after them to another location – back up the stairs toward the fifth floor. Of course, the fucking stairs had to move in a crisis.

No one else made it with James and Lily.

"Fuck…" James groaned. "Remus!"

Remus pushed past the younger students and shouted, "Are both of you all right?"

James turned to Lily who looked anxious, but physically ok.

"Yeah – keep moving them," shouted James, motioning for him to keep moving, "we'll catch up."

Remus looked at him skeptically and said, "Ok. You two be careful – get to the Great Hall."

James and Lily watched to make sure that there were no stragglers. Once they made sure they got down to the first floor, James turned and began moving.

"Wait, James!" hissed Lily, grabbing his wrist. "We should wait until the staircase moves back here. It's probably safer."

James shook his head and countered, "You're barking mad if you think I'm going to wait here for a dementor to come and take my soul."

Lily frowned at him. She then looked over into the third floor corridor and shook her head, "James – it's the third floor corridor on the right; this place creeps me out! I can't, you know the rumors. No one goes here."

"Lily," James said, getting closer to her. "They're just rumors. We'll walk around to the left side and take the stairs from there. We shouldn't just wait here."

Lily looked in. It wasn't forbidden to go in there, but no one did. Dumbledore often recommended that no one should go down there. It was eerie and creepy. She never liked it.

"James…" Lily murmured.

James smiled his famous Potter-Smile and said, "Lily, I got you. Come on."

And for some odd, weird, unexplainable reason – that stupid, arrogant, proud smile made Lily feel stronger.

"Fine…" Lily groaned as they slowly walked into the corridor, deciding to the head to the left.

"_Lumos,_" James said, lighting the tip of his wand. Lily did the same.

They walked quickly and silently. But not fast enough in Lily's opinion, especially when she head a creaking noise.

She froze and turned her back. "James, you heard that?"

"My heart beating for you?" James asked in his teasing tone.

"Don't fuck with me, Potter," hissed Lily, punching him in the arm. "I'm being serious. I heard something."

James scoffed, "Who knew that Lily Evans was such a superstitious old bat at heart - Where's the Gryffindor Bravery in you. Robert Smith apparently loves scary stories – that's going to be a hell of a ride for her, Red."

(Red was James' new nickname for Lily due to her hair. It wasn't a very clever one, but James thought it was cute and that's all that mattered to him.)

Lily rolled her eyes and asked, "Bloody hell, James. How do you know so much about… _everyone_?"

"Sources, Red," he revealed.

"Oh very specific," Lily said sarcastically. James smirked.

_Creak! _

Lily froze again and latched onto James' arm, but immediately let go once she realized that she had done such a stupid thing (also why did the boy have those biceps – it's not like there's an exercise room in Hogwarts... or maybe there is.)

"Something is wrong," she said softly. "You heard it too?"

James nodded, feeling skeptical as well this time. "Yeah, I did," he murmured, "let's keep moving."

They began to move faster when a rush of cold air passed by them, causing them to pause momentarily.

"Lily, stop panting!"

"Fuck off, James, you're the one to talk… You sound like a bitch in heat."

Lily and James realized it wasn't either one of them. They had both read the textbooks in Defense Against the Arts and the section on dementors. And they both knew that Dementors were both prone to heavy breathing.

"Move," James said, grabbing Lily's hand. They began running and turned a corner. They were close to the other exit of the third floor corridor, but when they turned the corridor, they faced their match.

It wasn't just one – they would've had a decent chance, but no. They're must've been three... four… no, five dementors.

"Oh my god," Lily breathed.

"Lily, run-"

It all happened so slowly, but quickly too because Lily and James couldn't stop the dementor's actions. Lily was about to use her patronus charm before being slammed against a wall by two dementors, the third one followed. It came up so closely to Lily that it looked like it was kissing her.

James would've done something if he could. Two dementors were taking turns, trying to share in taking James' soul.

They were clouding his brain, his thoughts. It was so bloody hard to even raise the wand - he hadn't even tried to produce the charm.

_Death… it seems so easy now… it's easier in the long run…_

"No," James breathed. He pointed at the wand at the dementors. He desperately tried to say something, but nothing came out of his mouth.

_Come on, Potter, concentrate, _he hissed to himself.

James thought about the Marauders, how much fun they've had in the past five years. Not just as humans, but as animals in the last two. He was happy…

"_Expecto Patronum," _James said pointing the wand at the dementors.

It wasn't his full fledged one – normally that one worked in class for him, but theory is different from the real world, isn't it? However, it managed to push them back so that James dropped to the floor. He gasped for air as he tried to stand up. The dementors were coming back, but he didn't see it.

Instead, he saw Lily. He saw Lily being engulfed by dark shadows. He could see the shadows, sucking the soul right out of her. And in that moment, Lily Evans was helpless. James had seen Lily angry, upset, and even sad at one point, but no, she was never helpless.

Her wand was stranded on the floor.

In that moment, he remembered Lily at Peter's party. It was just a fragment of two different moments.

It was when Lily laughed at one of his jokes for the first time. Lily told James that he wasn't so bad and asked what happened, James told her that she just never noticed, and Lily smiled back that she would pay more attention. He felt so happy.

Almost as happy as when Lily snuggled in his arms (despite being passed out) as they waited for MacDonald to bring Spunk to bring her into the girls' dorms. She felt so perfect in his arms-

"_EXPECTO PATRONUM!" _shouted James, pointing his wand at the shadows that engulfed Lily.

A large silver stag ran at the dementors from James' wand, pushing them away and nearly throwing them out of sight. Lily's body dropped to the floor, slumping over.

James brought the stag back and made it ram into the two other dementors, making them disappear as well.

James let out a sigh of relief as he stood up. A heavy weight lifted off of his shoulders and his chest. Now that the dementors, he immediately felt lighter.

But that quickly changed when saw Lily.

"Lily!" James shouted as he ran over to her, picking up her wand in the process. He bent down and gently lifted her head up in his hands. "Lily, come on!"

James could hear her breathing, but that didn't mean much. Once a dementor performed a kiss, the victim would be left in a persistent vegetative state – that's what the textbook said. So, Lily could've had her soul sucked…

"No, no," James chanted. "Come on, Lily. Please! Wake up."

She didn't move.

"Fuck," hissed James. "Lily, Please. I know you're in there. Wake up! Wake up, Lily! Come on!"

She still didn't move.

"Ok, fuck this," James growled angrily. He picked up Lily, cradling her gently, somehow managing to hold their wands too. He then began running with her without a second thought.

James ran down the stairs quickly, but carefully. He ran all the way down until they reached the entrance of the Great Hall – the doors were closed.

"PROFESSOR DUMBLEDORE!" shouted James. "PROFESSOR MCGONAGALL!"

He looked down at Lily, who was still breathing, but not moving or anything. She looked like she was in a deep sleep… hopefully.

The doors opened, and James was faced with Slughorn, Flitwick, McGonagall, and Dumbledore.

"Potter!" exclaimed McGonagall, putting her hands to her face. She then looked down at Lily Evans and clutched her chest. "Is that Lily Evans? What happened?"

"D-dementors, Professor," gasped James.

"Come in, James," Dumbledore said quickly, urging him to come inside. "Quickly."

James walked in quickly. The whole school was packed into the Great Hall. He noticed Sirius, Evie, Lupin, and Peter talking together, but immediately stopped when they saw James walk in with Lily. In the corner of his eye, he noticed Robert Smith and the other boys look at James and Lily with worried eyes. James also noticed how Severus Snape jumped to his face with concern written all over his face.

"Lay her down here," Madam Pomfrey insisted.

"What happened?" McGonagall asked again, more desperately this time as she moved to James, who was lying Lily down on a table.

"We were taking some students down, but the stairs changed on us," said James, still staying very closely by Lily. "We got stuck in the Third Floor Corridor and we got attacked by dementors as we tried to get around to the other side. I managed to get them off of us, but… I might've been too late-"

"No," said Dumbledore in a calm and comforting tone, as he and Madam Pomfrey checked the condition of Lily. "You did fine, James. More than fine. Lily will be all right – she has just passed out."

"She'll be okay?" James asked, relieved.

Madam Pomfrey nodded, "Physically, she'll be fine. But, taking that much from Dementors can cause one to loose consciousness. You saved her just in time, Mr. Potter."

James let out a sigh of relief, but still looked anxious and somewhat sad.

Pulling something from out of his cloak, Dumbledore pulled out a small bar of chocolate. He passed it James and said, "Here – it'll help. Poppy, watch after these two closely – they must've been hit pretty badly."

"Thanks," James murmured, nodding.

"Ok," Dumbledore said. "Minerva, you stay here with Professor Flitwick, Madam Pince, and Madam Pomfrey. I'm going to join the others in taking care of this problem."

McGonagall nodded her solemnly as Dumbledore left the Hall.

"Why don't you go rest, Potter?" asked McGonagall, resting a hand on James' shoulder kindly. "Evans isn't going anywhere."

"If it's all right with you, Professor," said James but still looking at Lily's unconscious form, "I'd rather stay here. I'd just feel more at ease."

McGonagall was taken back for a moment. She then smiled, "All right."

McGonagall then gave everyone a speech about how everything was going to be all right and there was no need to worry. She then forced everyone to go to sleep, making boys sleep on one side and girls on the other. She, however, let James sit by Lily.

* * *

_January 21st, 1977 - Hogwarts Hospital Wing: 12:09pm_

Lily had a headache; she also felt like throwing up a bit as well. She didn't feel well at all – she felt like she was going to be sick honestly. Her eyes fluttered open softly.

"Hey look…"

"She's waking up."

"Evans!"

"Shut up, Pettigrew. You're voice is not what she needs right now."

That last one must be Evie – Lily just knew. She opened her eyes and sat up slowly. She looked around and quickly realized that she was in the hospital wing with Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, and Evie Williams sitting around her bed. "Why am I here?"

"You and your bloody black outs," murmured Evie, letting out a little smile. She then looked up at her friend and asked, "What'd you remember?"

Lily scratched her head and tried remembering. "Uh… Dementors were in the castle. We were to bring kids down to the Great Hall. Um, Potter and I got split up. We took the Third Floor Corridor… and then… there was screaming."

"Screaming?" Sirius asked skeptically. In the back of his head, he knew for a fact that James hadn't mentioned any screaming.

"It sounded like my sister's tantrums about me," murmured Lily. She shook it off and then said, "I don't remember anything else. I felt sad though. I remember feeling awful."

Evie looked up to her three other housemates. She then put a hand on Lily's knee and whispered, "You and James were attacked by Dementors."

Lily's eyes widened. "We were… _what_?"

Evie went on slowly and softly, trying not to scare Lily. "James said that three were on you and you were so close to have been… _kissed_. He sent a patronus on them. For a second, we thought you were... gone"

"James saved me?" Lily asked softly.

"Yeah," Lupin said. "He got his fair share of taking from the Dementors, but you blacked out because you had three. You all right, Evans?"

Lily nodded slowly. "Where's James now?"

"He's talking with Professor Dumbledore about going back to classes," said Sirius. "He doesn't like it in here when he's being treated like a victim."

"He was in the hospital wing?"

"He actually got pretty bad, nearly fainted twice from just standing," explained Evie. "McGonagall and Pomfrey forbade him from going to classes this morning, which I'm glad they did. But James wasn't a fan. He mostly stayed by your side, making sure you were all right."

"He did?"

"Evans," Sirius said, sitting in the chair beside her. "James carried you all the way down from the third floor corridor. He wanted to make sure you'd wake up."

Lily gulped. "He… he did?"

* * *

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	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Here's another chapter. Please Review and Enjoy!

* * *

_January 21__st__, 1977 – Gryffindor Common Room: 08:12pm_

"Where are you going?" Sirius asked James, who was sitting on the couch between Peter and Remus.

"Out," James said simply, still walking towards the door.

Sirius exchanged concerned glances with his two friends as they looked at him concerned. The whole day, James was oddly quiet and that was just not a thing for James.

James Potter? Quiet? It's cute if you thought that.

"You okay, Prongs?" asked Remus in a concerned voice, giving him worried eyes.

James nodded and turned his friends. "Guys, you've been giving me that worried look all day. I'm okay."

"Do you need company?" asked Peter, hopefully.

"Nah, I'm good," James said weakly as he ruffled his hair back.

"_Lady _company?" asked Sirius, giving him a smirk.

James chuckled lowly, "No – I'm all right. I'll see you guys a little later." He walked out of the common room, his friends watching him with a concerned eye.

"He shouldn't have gone to classes today," Remus thought out loud.

"You know James," said Sirius, "he won't let anything get him down, not even nearly having his soul sucked out by dementors. Wonder where he's going…"

"To see Evans," Peter said, still looking at his _Quidittich _Monthy Magazine.

"What?" Remus and Sirius asked together, looking to their normally quiet friend.

Peter looked at them innocently and shrugged, "I mean, where else would he go? He _clearly _isn't in the shagging or the snogging mood… and with the way he was watching her like a hawk earlier today, I'd imagine he'd be going to check on Evans."

Remus and Sirius exchanged glances. Peter was probably right… and that was a new concept.

James walked slowly to the Hospital Wing – it was a bit of a walk though. As he walked, all he could think of was Lily. He shouldn't have made them walk through the third floor corridor and he damn sure shouldn't have made her go if she didn't want to.

_You're an ass, Potter_… he thought glumly.

Maybe if they waited for the halls to change like Lily had suggested, neither one of them would've been in pain. Or had their souls nearly sucked out by ghastly monsters.

_You're not just an ass, Potter. You're _the _ass. Well done._

"Potter?" asked Madam Pomfrey as he walked into the hospital wing. She stood up from her desk and set her spectacles on the desk. "Not feeling well?"

"Er – no, I'm actually here to see Lily Evans," said James softly.

Madam Pomfrey smiled lightly before saying, "It's very late, Potter. Maybe tomorrow-"

James interrupted her, trying to show her reason, "I just want to see if she's all right, I heard she woke up-"

"Yes, she woke up. She's been eating well. Miss Evans _is _fine, Potter. She needs a little more time to recuperate and it's late. We should let her rest, don't you think-?"

"Actually, I'd like to see James," said Lily Evans, leaning forward at the edge of her assigned bed. She smiled lightly, "Please, Madam Pomfrey."

"Miss Evans-"

"Just ten minutes," Lily offered hopefully.

Madam Pomfrey looked to James, and then back at Lily. She frowned and sighed. "Only ten minutes. I'll be outside in my office if you need anything."

"Thanks, Madam Pomfrey," James smiled as he walked over to Lily. He walked slowly, noticing Lily sitting back in her place at the head of her bed. She was in a black undershirt and a pair of long plaid sleeping pants. Her red hair was tied up in a messy bun at the top of her head. She looked tired, a bit drained, but still happy to see James.

"Hi," she smiled softly.

"Hi," James said, sitting on the chair next to her. "How're you feeling?"

Lily shrugged, "I'm all right. Tired, but all right." She looked up at him, examining him just a bit. "You?"

"Managing," James said shortly, but kindly.

"So…" Lily murmured. "How can I help you, Mr. Potter?" She asked in a light teasing tone.

"Oh – I… er… I brought the Defense Against the Dark Art notes from today in class," said James, showing her his notebook.

Lily looked at it, surprised, but pleased. She took it from him and flipped to the most recent page of notes and said in a voice as if she were putting two and two together, "You sleep in that class normally. I don't know how you do it, but you do along with Evie and Sirius. Are these notes decent, Potter?"

James frowned amusingly, "Check for yourself if you don't believe me."

Lily looked at the notes carefully. They were written neatly and very detailed. It was on the usage of nonverbal spells, the theory rather. Tomorrow in class they would be working on actually applying the theory with minor counter-curses. She was impressed.

"Wow, James!" Lily marveled, flipping through the fine-tuned notes. "You _were _really paying attention!"

"Ouch ouch, my ego," James said dramatically, clutching his chest.

Lily pushed his arm and smiled at him, "I mean, thank you, James. I appreciate greatly."

James smiled back, "Not a problem."

Lily pushed a falling strand back behind her ear before looking down. Her hands were tucked neatly in her lap and she stared at them for a moment, as if she were contemplating something. She chewed her bottom lip.

_Oh, she _is _lovely, _James thought as he watched her, nearly drooling.

"Um… James?"

"Yes, Lily?"

She smiled at him kindly before saying in the most genuine, raw, and effortlessly beautiful tone, "Thank you, James."

"For what?" James asked as he leaned back in his chair, not entirely understanding why she was repeating herself.

Lily looked at him with those big emerald eyes. God, she was beautiful. James literally just wanted to sink into them and have them all to himself. The way they sparkled, the way they just spoke for themselves. He could tell just with her eyes that she was _thankful._

"For saving my life," she said softly.

"No, Lily-"

"Well," she interrupted in a matter-of-fact tone, pretending like she actually couldn't hear he was about say something. "Saving my soul to be more precise since that's what dementors take, don't they?"

"No, Lily, you shouldn't be thanking me," James blurted out. "I'm the one who put you in that situation. I shouldn't have made you go with me through the third corridor. I should've listened to you and stayed by the stairs."

"James, you can't possibly know that though," Lily countered. "We might've been attacked by more dementors and then what? We wouldn't even be having this conversation right now!"

"Or we'd be talking about something else, something stupid!" James rambled on. "Like me, stupidly, trying to ask you out on a date or some shit. Me trying to help you with Smith. But not this, Lily! Not with you sitting on a bed in the Hospital Wing because you almost had your soul sucked out by a fucking dementor-"

"Stop!" Lily shouted as she grabbed James' face into her hands, gently enough not hurt him, but hard enough for him to shut the hell up.

They were very close to one another.

Lily then laughed, still holding his face, but loosening her hold a bit. She smiled at him, "James, just accept the thank you. In the end, you saved me and I am truly grateful."

James bit his lower lip, letting it slide out of his grasp slowly. He nodded, "You're welcome, Lily."

Lily pulled back (hands too), not realizing the effect that she had on James, and laughed, "Now was that so hard?"

James chuckled lowly, "Just a bit." The two then smiled at one another kindly.

"Ok," Madam Pomfrey called out, not in sight though. "Mr. Potter, I think it is time you go back to your dorm. It's getting late."

"Ok," called out James. He got up and smiled to Lily. "Night, Evans. Get some rest."

"You too," Lily said kindly.

James smiled weakly, still feeling guilty and walking away. No matter what Lily said, he still felt like he was the cause. He was the source of her pain, something he never wanted.

Lily called out to him again. "Yes?" he asked, moving back towards the end of the bed.

Lily crawled on her hands and knees, showing off a bit of cleavage, just for a moment. James felt his mouth go dry. She moved to the edge of the bed and stood up on her knees. She took pressed one hand to James' cheek and on the other cheek - she gave him a gentle tender kiss.

"James, you're worrying too much for a Marauder, especially since you're the bloody leader," smiled Lily as she back on her behind. "Don't worry about it. You saved my life and you should be bragging to all of the girls within an earshot – well, that's what I'm used to at least."

"How about that date then?" asked James in a cocky accent.

Lily groaned playfully, "Could've lived without that though-"

"Potter, Now!" shouted Madam Pomfrey.

James, touching the place where Lily placed her lips, murmured, "Er – ok, good night, Lily."

Confused by James' sudden shyness, Lily smiled with furrowed eyebrows, "Night, James."

For the rest of night, walking back to Gryffindor Tower, chilling with the guys, and right before he went to bed, James would sporadically touch his cheek.

* * *

**R-E-V-I-E-W. Ok? Love you guys :D**


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Longest chapter yet! All right, you know the drill. Please Review! It means a lot to me! Big love for the reviewers, favoriters, and followers! Thanks GUYS!

* * *

_January 29__th__, 1977 – Hogsmeade: 02:45pm_

"Where do you want to go?" asked Mary as her, Nina, Evie, and Lily walked through the snow-filled Hogsmeade.

Lily had been released from the Hospital Wing two days after James' had visited her. She was feeling better, but still a bit tired. This was the most _exhausting _activity she had done since the accident, and she was glad to be apart of it.

"How about Gladrags?" asked Nina, pointing the nice store. "I could do for some new make-up."

The girls nodded as they walked over to the store. But then Evie stopped and said, "I'll meet up with you guys in there. I need to talk to Potter."

Lily watched her friend skeptically. 'Why?"

"Need to talk to him," Evie said simply before running off to the Marauders. Lily noticed that they greeted her kindly. They talked very privately about something that all of them seemed to be interested in.

Lily decided to go inside, but she was still interesting. They walked inside to the nice shop and noticed that Robert Smith was in there with some guys.

"Fuck," hissed Lily before bending down behind a rack of clothing.

"What the hell are you doing, Lily?" Mary asked, confused but amused.

"Smith," Lily groaned. "Where the fuck is James when you need him?"

"Oh get up!" hissed Mary, grabbing Lily's arm. "Potter isn't always going to be there for you every bloody step of the way. You need to sort some of this out on your own."

"I'm so bad at this though," groaned Lily, pulling back her arm, remaining hidden on the ground. "I'll just wait here until he leaves-

Mary rolled her eyes and said, "No, you're fine – Oh! Hi, Smith."

"Hey, MacDonald," smiled Smith before looking down at Lily. "A-are you all right, Evans?"

"Oh! Er – yes!" She smiled, but wanting to die inside a little. Why are you on the floor, Lily? Make a decent excuse at least. She was about to say that she was tying her shoe, but she was wearing boots. "I thought I saw a really nice pair of um… boots, but I was, um, wrong."

_Wow. You're qualified pathetic, _Lily mentally scolded herself. _Can barely talk like a human being._

"Oh," said Smith simply. "But there are no boots on the floor…"

"Ah – I know," said Lily, trying really hard to make up a decent excuse. "That's why I bent down… to check if they were… really there."

Mary snickered into a closed fist as she disappeared off to find and gossip what she saw to Nina.

"Maybe I can help you find them," offered Smith, kindly.

_Oh – he's so cute, _Lily mused thoughtfully.

"Um, okay," She smiled about to stand up, setting herself on her knees.

But right then and there, the door opened and bumped Smith forward a bit, by accident, pushing Lily into the corner and making him rest a hand on the wall.

It was not a position one wanted to be in… with others present.

"Yeah, that sounds good- _oh damn."_

It was Sirius' voice and a bunch of shuffling feet behind him: the Marauders and Evie.

"Um… You know, Evans, there is a broom closet for that," sniggered Sirius with a smirk. Peter couldn't help, but join in. Evie covered her hands over her mouth, trying very hard not to die from laughter. Remus laughed a little too, but not as loudly as the prior three.

James simply raised an eyebrow, but then let his brow furrow naturally. He sucked his teeth and then gritted his together. He gave Lily a hard glare that made Lily feel awkward.

"No, it's not what it looks like!" shouted Lily as she stood up, almost knocking Smith onto his back. "Oh – I'm sorry, Smith."

"No, it's okay," smiled Smith. "I'll still help you out with those boots."

"Um, sure," said Lily, smiling. Once they began moving, she shot a glare to the Marauders and Evie.

"Oh, that was priceless," smirked Evie. "Bloody hell, why do I not have my camera on me today!"

James looked over to see Lily and Smith laughing together, looking through things. They looked kind of happy to him. Lily was smiling so charmingly and Smith couldn't get enough of it-

Sirius murmured something that broke James' concentration.

"What?" James asked, not hearing the comment Sirius made.

"Make a move tomorrow – for her birthday," Sirius suggested.

"Why would I do that?" asked James questioningly.

Sirius frowned, "Come on, James. It's killing you seeing Evans with Smith. You got to tell her that."

"And see all my hard work go down the drain?" James asked rhetorically, letting out a small scoff. "I'd rather not."

* * *

_January 30__th__, 1977 – Gryffindor 6__th__ Year Girls' Dorm: 10:18am _

"One…"

Lily heard someone's voice. It was too early for this. Why were people talking so loudly in the morning? Bloody Hell-

"Two…"

_Ugh, fuck off, _Lily thought loudly. She hid under her covers again and groaned loudly.

"Three…"

What the bloody hell were they counting down anyway-

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LILY!"

Lily smirked, but still hid in her pillow. "Thank you," she said, peeking out under her covers, looking at Evie, bewitching a sign to make it sparkle. "But let's go back to bed, shall we?"

"No! Absolutely not!" shouted Evie, pulling the covers off of her. "It's your seventeenth – you're of age. You're celebrating, Lily Marie Evans!"

Much to Lily's fake-demise, the whole day Lily and Evie celebrated through Hogsmead, going again. They walked around laughing as girls do and when lunch time came around, since they missed breakfast, they decided to head to the Three Broom Sticks Pub.

They played some form of twenty-questions. It was fun, even though they knew most of the answers.

"Ok, I get to ask you now," said Lily.

"All right," nodded Evie as they passed a group of drooling fourth years, staring at the prettiest, yet most humble girls in the school. "Let's hear it."

"Who was your first time?" asked Lily. She actually did not know the answer to this question. There were so many rumors at the time that Evie didn't want to talk about it, and Lily didn't want to push her.

"Oh…" Evie laughed softly, and looked down. "Don't judge."

"When was the last time I judged you?" asked Lily, putting her hands on her hips.

"The last time I answered a question," countered Evie, smirking at her.

"All right," laughed Lily. "

Evie smiled softly, "Michael Crenshaw…"

"You're god-brother!" shouted Lily.

"Shut up! Shut up!" shouted Evie, clasping a hand over her mouth. "Oh! Merlin, Lily!"

"You... He… He's your godbrother," Lily said softly.

"Ah, well, I was never as close to Michael and Eric as I was to Danny, so it's not the same thing. They were at school while I was staying with the Crenshawks."

"How old was Michael? You were sixteen when those rumors started. Wasn't he two years older than you."

"Yeah – he had just turned eighteen," revealed Evie. "It was kind of like… a graduation gift for him."

"Your virginity?" Lily asked.

Evie shrugged, "I wanted to get it over with anyway. With someone I trusted more than with someone I loved because hell, who knows how that long would take."

"But don't you want to give _that _to someone special?" asked Lily, actually very interested. Lily was a virgin, but recently she had been thinking about loosing it. But, if she were, she didn't know to whom because it was a very _intimate _thing. Virginity. You can only loose it once and you had to be sure.

"It's a personal choice, Lily," explained Evie. "A lot of people want to do it with someone they love or soulmate, but you know me. I don't necessarily believe in the thing. So, I picked someone who I know would… _help _me through it. Mike understood and cared for me. And I always thought that he was good looking and trustworthy – known him long enough. So, Mike it was. But Lily, don't follow my advice. If you want to do it with someone you love or after you've been married, do it then. It's your choice."

Lily nodded, biting her lower lip. Someone she trusted. Who…? If her and Smith actually became something… would she give it to him? Yes, she fancied Smith, but she didn't know if she trusted him yet.

"Why?" asked Evie. "You thinking of loosing it?"

Lily nodded.

"With who?" Evie asked curiously. "Birthday sex?"

"No!" shouted Lily. She sighed, "I don't know. But I have been thinking about it. But trustworthy…? Evie, if you had to re-loose your virginity who would you lose it to?"

Evie looked at her like she was mad, and then furrowed her eyebrows, thinking about it. She shrugged, "Not answering it."

"It's my birthday!" Lily whined like a child, grabbing onto her friend's arm.

"You can't use that excuse!" shouted Evie. "It's not fair!"

"It's completely and utterly fair," said Lily. "Come on. If you had to do it over again, who? Right now, this year."

"I don't trust many people and you know that," murmured Evie. "Not Danny… but maybe just maybe … Sirius Black…"

"Really?" asked Lily, confused beyond belief. "Potter? Why? Just Why?"

Evie shrugged, "I… don't know. He seems good at it. He can probably make the experience good for a first time girl. Probably wouldn't be a dick about it and ruin your life later. Also, he respects me… or well, he better or I'd kick his ass… and wouldn't go around to tell the whole school."

"You have a _thing _for Black?" asked Lily, smirking wildly.

Evie blushed (a rare occurrence for her) slightly. She immediately shook her head and asked, "What do I look like? Hell no. Sirius Black? You must be bonkers!"

"Oh, come on!" Lily countered. "You blush like a tomato at the thought!"

"No, there's a difference," Evie said as she continued to shake her head; Lily swore she was going to get whiplash at her rate. "I'd like to _fuck _Sirius Black. But I don't fancy him."

"Don't they correlate?"

"Most of the time they do, but I purely want to fuck him," revealed Evie. "He was a bloody decent kisser, seems like he can do well in the bed."

"You puzzle me," Lily said.

"I tend to do that with you, don't I?" smirked Evie.

They reached the Three Broomsticks, which seemed fairly quiet for the daytime, but Lily didn't say much. Evie let her go first and she opened the door.

There was no one in there, not even Madam Rosemerta. It was very strange and there was sort of eerie feeling to it. She didn't like it one bit-

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY EVANS!" shouted a whole lot of people as they jumped out of nowhere and some even apparting into sight. Lily jumped and clasped her hands over her mouth.

"Oh my god!" Lily shouted, laughing a little too.

Evie placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled, "Happy Birthday, Lily!"

There were roughly about thirty or more people in the Inn, all throwing confetti for Lily seventeenth birthday. Two Hufflepuff students threw down a large banner with the words Happy 17th, Evans on it.

"Wow!" Lily smiled, amazed.

"Happy Birthday, Evans!"

"Happy Birthday, Lily!"

It was Remus and Sirius who ran behind Lily, grabbed her under her knees, and lifted her up onto their shoulders. Lily squealed out of pure shock and held onto tightly to the boys' hands.

"Ugh, put me down!" shouted Lily playfully.

Peter ran over in front of them and took a picture of them, laughing to himself. Lily was nearly blinded.

"Oh come on, Lily," laughed Sirius. "You're seventeen now. Live a little."

Lily looked down at them and everyone. She smirked as she moved to look down at Sirius, "I feel like I'll live a little _longer _once I'm on the ground, thank you very much, Black?"

"Moony, did you hear Miss Evans?"

"Yes, I did, Padfoot," smirked Remus. "I think she wants to be back on the ground." There was a mischevious, scheming tone that Lily did not entirely like.

"We should put her down then, right, Mate?"

"No! No, Sirius Black, I swear!" shouted Lily in protest. "If you do something, I will _hex_ you!"

"And here she goes!" Sirius laughed as they both bent down and pushed Lily backwards, causing her to scream and many of the students to gasp.

Instead of landing on the ground like Lily had expected, she was caught in the arms of a very strong and tall person. She looked up and saw James Potter, grinning at her like the Cheshire Cat.

James smiled, "Happy Birthday, Lily."

Lily blushed, but immediately shook her head. "Tha… P-put me down, James."

James laughed as he set her down. He was about to pull something out of his jacket pocket, but Madam Rosmerta came to the bar, carrying little glasses of Firewhiskies and such.

"Ok! Drinks! I know who is of age and who is not, so don't lie to me!" shouted Madam Rosmerta. "Ah- watch yourself, Williams. You're a May born."

"Oh come on!" hissed Evie. "How do you even know?!"

"McGonagall," Madam Rosmerta smiled. She then turned to Sirius and said, "That's a lot of drinks for one student, Black."

"One for me, one for the birthday girl, and then another one for me," smiled Sirius as he walked over to Lily. He passed one to Lily and said, "Come on, Miss-of-age! Bottoms up!"

Lily laughed as the two did so.

"Oh! That's strong!" hissed Lily as she scrunched her face up.

"Let me get one of those- _Ouch!_" shouted James, withdrawing his hand. Madam Rosmerta gave him a stern look. "March born!"

"Oh come on! You don't need to be a Firewhiskey-Nazi!" chuckled James. "Madam Rosmerta, come on." He smiled at her charmingly.

"Don't bat your eyelashes at me, Potter," smirked Madam Rosmerta, pointing her wand at him. "I'm not one of your girls at Hogwarts." Madame Rosmerta was a seventh year when James started up his first year of Hgowarts. Girls would talk to her about James, about how suave and charming he was. She could tell that he was a heartbreaker since he was eleven.

"You look lovely," James smiled as Madame Rosmerta rolled her eyes.

"Happy Birthday, Evans!"

"Happy 17th!"

"The Big 1-7!"

Lily continued to thank everyone as she sat down. They put on some Muggle rock music and moved the chairs to the side to dance properly. Remus grabbed Nina to dance as Sirius and Evie talked by the bar. Peter too was getting some love from 5th year, Josie Slothe. Lily talked with some other students like Luke Walters and Joshua Jensen (_Team Evans_, Sirius had coughed as he passed by). It was a lovely party.

Noticing her alone once Tyler Kane (who knows how she heard) grabbed Richard Hendricks to dance, James walked over to her.

"You should be dancing, Lily," said James as he sat back, next to her in the circular booth. "It's your seventeenth-"

"Question," Lily asked as she slipped down another firewhiskey, looked like her third shot, but still particularly sober in comparison to her last fiasco with alcohol - she probably wanted to remember what happened unlike last time. "How did you rent out all the Three Broomsticks?"

"Evie and I collaborated," revealed James. "She and I split the rent space."

"Bloody hell, how much did that cost?" Lily asked, almost sputtering her drink, almost dying due to the strength of the Firewhiskey.

James smiled, "Don't worry about it, Lily. It's your 17th."

Lily frowned, "But, you too shouldn't be spending that on me- Oh, you prick!"

"What?" asked James as Lily slid down in her seat, hiding herself from the view of other people.

"You invited _Smith _without telling me?" hissed Lily, looking up at him. She scrunched her nose up at him and frowned.

"Sirius, Remus, Peter, or Evie must've invited him," said James, actually surprised to see him because he sure as hell didn't invite him. He frowned for a moment before looking down at her.

So, now he had to play match-maker...

"All right," said James. "Now, sit up. Lily, you look crazy. Pretend like you're flirting with me."

Lily sat up straightly and stared at James like he as either crazy or stupid. She pursed her lips and raised an eyebrow. "You should be so lucky to encounter my flirtation skills."

James scoffed, "Oh really?"

Lily laughed, "Yes. I'm actually quite good at it." She knew that it was a lie, but she wasn't going to give James Potter the satisfaction.

"Don't flatter yourself, Lily," smirked James. "You couldn't flirt without my proper coaching."

"Oh _please_," Lily said, rolling her eyes. She then gave him a sinfully flirtatious look. "I can totally work it out."

"You know," said James, as he got closer to her, "flirting isn't only with your words, Evans. Body language is very important as well."

Lily looked at James appraisingly. He then motioned his eyes over to the side, noting that Smith was slightly paying attention to them.

_Thank you, Potter_… Lily thought softly.

She leaned in closer to James and placed a hand on his chest. She batted her eyelashes at him and smiled prettily, "Don't think that you can teach me _every _lesson, James."

James looked down at the hand that was placed on his chest. He smirked as he looked down at her, "Who taught you this lesson?"

"Woman's intuition," Lily winked before wetting her lips slightly.

"You're a _tease_, Evans," James pointed out in a soft tone.

"No, James," countered Lily, in a smooth tone, as she pulled back to take another drink. "I'm just a good flirt- Oh, hi, Smith."

"Happy Birthday, Evans," smiled Smith. He looked over to a semi-annoyed James, who was glaring at him. He raised an eyebrow and looked at Lily. "Am I interrupting something-"

James was about so clearly, but Lily beat him to it. "No, not at all," she smiled brightly.

"I just wanted to know if you wanted to dance?" asked Smith, putting out a hand to Lily.

Lily smiled brightly, a smile James rarely saw. He felt his heart clenched a little. "Oh, sure." She took Smith's hand and turned back to James' winking and mouthed, "Woman's intuition."

He saw Lily and Smith take the floor. Lily wrapped her arms around Smith's neck as he held her hips. They smiled and swayed sensually to the music.

James wondered if Lily knew what kind of hold she had on him. Was she punishing him for all the years prior of teasing? Punishing him for scaring off every guy before Smith? Punishing him for ruining her friendship with Snape-

James saw that Sirius had departed from Evie. His friend walked over to him and pulled out a cig. "I told that you should make a move, but you never listen to me," said Sirius as he let a cigarette. He shook the match vigorously for the light to go out and threw it in the ash tray.

"What about you and Evie?" asked James in a curt manner.

"What about her?"

"Aren't you trying to sweep her off her feet?" asked James, and before he got an answer, he went on. "But I swear, Sirius, you fuck her over, and I'll kick you in the face as a stag."

"A little protective of her?" asked Sirius curiously. "You got feelings for her too-?

"God no," James gagged, "She's like my sister."

"So, do you mind me fucking your sister?" asked Sirius playfully, breathing out some smoke.

James scoffed as he took a sip of his butterbeer. "No, but don't mess with her like you do with the other girls."

"Nah," said Sirius, shaking his head, "I… find _Williams _interesting. She's different, don't think she would ever let me."

Both of them looked over to Evie who was also smoking a cigarette by a slightly open window. She was breathing it out a long smoke of air with her elbow rested on the windowsill – it was make a lovely picture. Paul Pierce ruined it and walked over to her confidently and cockily, a seventh-year boy that James and Sirius were not particularly fond of because of his desire to _try _to be them and would _make fun_ ofthe Marauders as often as he could. From what the two could see, Pierce put out a hand and asked her to dance.

Evie, neutral Evie, even thought he was an asshole because _he _broke _her _heart in the rudest way possible (but only Danny Crenshaw knew that). She was only fourteen. We can get into that later, but just know that this is the reason why Evie turned so cold.

Without moving anything but her head, Evie looked down at Pierce's hand, and then back up at him. She then let a small scoff and looked out of the window again before breathing in a smoke of air. As she let it out off and said in a very cold and harsh tone, "Who the bloody hell knows where that hand has been? Why don't you go take that hand of yours and go shove it up your own ass – it'll be the only the game you ever get, Pierce."

James and Sirius covered up their laughter by pressing their hand against their mouths.

Pierce was about to say something, but Evie stood up before he could do or say anything. She stood close, almost nose-to-nose, and said, "Get out of my best friend's party, Pierce," No one heard Evie whisper add the phrase, "asshole."

Pierce said something back to her and then walked out of the party with some of his friends.

Evie sat calmly back down and began smoking once again.

"That's why I love that girl," laughed Sirius, not really realizing the pain that Evie was in (yet, no one did). Realizing that he had used the word, _Love, _he immediately turned bright red. James smiled mischeviously. "You know what I meant, Prongs. Don't give me that fucking look."

"Riiight," smirked James.

"No, _fucking_ is very different," hissed Sirius. "And you know that, James. And at least, I'm making progress to my end-goal" He then looked at his best friend and protested, "You just sit hear, pushing her towards Smith."

"I tried," sighed James. He pulled out the small-little box and showed him what was inside.

Sirius' eyes widened and said, "Prongs, Man… You've got it bad for her."

"I know," said James, "I know, Sirius." It was a gold chain with a small green emerald teardrop jewel at the end. It was simple, but beautiful and elegant. He then closed the box and slid it back in his pocket. He took another gulp of butterbeer and said, "Maybe next year. Or Christmas. Or… sometime else."

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	17. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Another chap! Please Review (You guys are da bestest) and Enjoy!

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_February 14__th__, 1977 – Great Hall: 08:12am_

Weeks began to move by faster for some reason, despite the work piling up. It was still cold up at Hogwarts - students were desperately wishing for the snow and rain to stop soon. They just wanted a little bit of sun, and a little less work.

"I'm so bloody tired," groaned Lily, who pulled an almost-all nighter for the Defense Against the Dark Arts paper that she started late because of prefect duties. She rested her head on the table and groaned again.

"You don't look so hot, Lils," said Evie, drinking some juice and looking absolutely and positively refreshed from sleep.

"What time did you go to bed?" asked Lily, grudgingly.

"Eleven…" smirked Evie.

"Sod off, Williams," growled Lily. "I went to bed at three-thirty-nine!" She sat up and grabbed Evie by the collar dramatically. "Three-thirty-nine! What kind of dark magic is that? What kind of dark magic did Professor Baron assign to make us write an entire essay on the Imperius Curse in one night?"

Evie chuckled lightly, "You are the one who decided to be so perfect and get assigned as prefect."

"Shut up," Lily groaned, but a bit lighter.

"_Lily Evans_!"

She expected this because for the past four years, James managed to throw a scene every year on Valentines' Day, asking her on a date. He created fireworks, wrote it on the walls, something extraordinary and most of all, unnecessary.

It was embarrassing.

This little fiasco every year insured that no boy would ever approach Lily. Everyone thought that they couldn't compare to Potter to win over Lily's affection. It pissed her off.

Lily looked around, awaiting to see James, standing at the entrance in some grand position…

But it wasn't him.

It was seventh-year Ravenclaw student, Gilderoy Lockhart. He was an attractive young fellow of seemingly average intelligence and was a fairly talented Seeker – nothing special in Lily's honest opinion – but amazingly cocky. The boy's ego was literally twice the size than that was necessary. Even James Potter had nothing on him.

"Oh no…" Lily groaned, turning around to Evie looking for help. She was laughing mildly into her hand.

"Lily, Dear," said Lockhart loudly, pulling out a large boquet of flowers. His voice was so loud that everyone nearly stopped talking, even the teachers. Lily felt like dying a little…

"I have a letter for you dear," said Lockhart, pulling out a long piece of parchment. He cleared his throat as he walked closer to her.

"_Letter_?" Evie murmured in amused disbelief.

"No," Lily whispered to him in a scolding tone, but still trying to smile so she didn't look like a bitch. "Stop, Lockhart. Stop."

Evie rolled her eyes and muttered in a low and amused tone for only Lily to hear, "He's ego went to his ears this time."

Lockhart smiled and read in his most dramatic voice to date, "_My lovely little Lily-"_

Evie nearly chocked on her morning pumpkin juice, but that didn't stop Lockhart from continuing:

"_You're beautiful emerald eyes gazing towards my sapphire blue ones creates a harmonic vision that leaves me in awe each time. You're the most beautiful creature I've seen with your blazing red read hair and your fair moonlight skin. It is only a natural response that a man of equal caliber asks you to be mine: my charming good looks, my handsome smile, my intelligence…"_

It would've been a decent sentiment if he hadn't mentioned himself. Kids were laughing and teachers were groaning, except for Dumbledore (amused). Lily had never wanted to hex anyone as much as Lockhart as much as now… James was _never_ this bad.

In Lily's peripheral vision, she saw that Smith looked over to Lockhart and then laughed quietly to his friends.

_Perfect… _She groaned internally.

"_My lovely little flower. I want to pick you and make you mine. The sweet fragrance of our love will override any scent in the world. Men will be jealous, and even more women-"_

"Hey Lily," James said in a cool nonchalant voice, passing by Lockhart as if he hadn't seen the boy.

"Uh… hi, James," Lily said in a confused and almost dazed tone as James sat next to her.

"How was your sleep?" asked James as if nothing strange had just happened. He began to pile some food onto his plate.

"I-insufficient…" murmured Lily, very confused. She just looked at James and almost forgot about Lockhart, who standing there and completely offended that Lily was listening to James and not him.

"Oh? Prefect duties?" asked James, taking a bite his toast. How could he be so calm?

Lily nodded, "And the Defense essay."

"Oh yeah," said James, nodding in acknowledgment. "Sorry to hear that-"

"Um, Potter," hissed Lockhart, tapping his shoulder, "I was talking to Evans if you don't mind."

"Oh were you?" asked James, staring at the hand that was placed on his shoulder. "Looks like you were just preaching to her about _yourself_ in the most unoriginal and dull manner. If you're going to try and… _court _her, at least make it somewhat original. A letter? That's been done before so many times. It's boring."

"Pardon?!" Lockhart asked loudly and angrily.

Kids quieted down for a different reason: wanting to hear James Potter tell off Gilderoy Lockhart was truly a sight.

"And either way, Lockhart," James went on coldly, "I'm very sure that Lily wasn't talking back, so it honestly looked like you were just talking to yourself." He then turned back to Lily and said, "You should've told me. I was up, I would've helped you."

Lily had never felt an urge to kiss James Potter since this moment. She smiled and asked, "Bloody hell, James, why were you up?"

"Evans!" shouted Lockhart like a little baby. "Why are you ignoring me?"

Since James' face wasn't in Lockhart's view, he gave Lily a wink. He then proceeded to say, "Oh, I think I got a cold or something. Stuffy nose."

"Oh, you should see Madam Pomfrey," said Lily in a caring tone, placing a hand on his shoulder. "She probably has a potion to get rid of that right away."

"Yeah, I know," revealed James, shrugging.

Lockhart ripped up the letter he had written and threw it up in the air, very dramatically. He stomped out of the Great Hall angrily, causing some kids to laugh.

Once he was gone, Lily smiled kindly at James, "Why'd you do that?"

James scoffed, "Oh come on, Lily. You know that _I'm _the only one allowed to embarrass you in front of the student population."

Lily rolled her eyes and pursed her lips and murmured, "Right. Forgot that." She then frowned, "Then why didn't you do it?"

James raised an eyebrow and asked, "Do you want me to?" He then pointed to the ceiling and said, "I can light the ceiling up with charms to make a heart with our names in the middle. And yours with my last name and little cupids flying around. It can be pink too-"

"I was kidding!" Lily shouted before clasping her hands over her ears.

"And that would go against everything I've been working towards with you and Smith," revealed James with a casual chomp of his toast.

"And the last three years wouldn't go against your progress?" Lily asked sharply.

"Wasn't trying to help you get with him for the past three years," said James.

"Good point," Lily noted as she ate some of her oatmeal. It was actually nice not having to deal with the James' Potter Valentine extravaganza. It was always an ordeal. "A little like last year, don't you think?"

James laughed, "A bit. Last year, I got the best reaction."

Lily scoffed, "I really felt like killing you…"

He laughed, "I know."

1973: James asked Lily to be his Valentine by asking it outside in the air. He did it in red smoke on his broomstick, causing him to get lots of leverage. It stayed in the air for almost two days. Lily almost kicked him in the throat, but she did hex him.

1974: James wrote on the walls of the school if Lily would be his Valentine for the year in bright pink ink. It almost got him expelled, but Dumbledore told the teachers that it was just a harmless prank. But that didn't stop McGonagall from giving him a week's worth of detention.

But the 5th year, James out did himself.

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_February 14__th__, 1976 - Grand Staircase: 06:07pm_

Lily ran down the stairs towards the Great Hall, not wanting to be late for dinner. She was starved and could literally hear her stomach begging her for substance. She reached to the first floor and proceeded to almost run into the Great Hall. What surprised her was a large mass of students huddling around the entrance.

Lily tried to see past the kids. "What's going-"

"Don't go in there, Lily." It was Severus who had stopped her. He grabbed her wrist to prevent her from going in.

"Why not?" Lily asked curiously, still trying to look in curiously.

"Do you know what day it is, right?" Severus asked, leading up to something important.

"The fourteenth…" murmured Lily, not seeing where this was going. She crossed her arms – she didn't really like games like this.

"Meaning…" Severus tried again, trying for her to see the issue.

Lily's eyes widened, and her face nearly turned the same color as her hair. She clenched her fists and pushed back the kids angrily. She brought her wand out and had every intention of using the stinging hex on the only boy stupid enough to continuously piss her off.

"POTTER!" Lily shouted as walked past the kids.

In that moment, Lily stopped when she was at the front of the group of kids. She gave a curious look she saw Evie being held back by Remus Lupin and Sirius Black. She looked she had been angry at one point, but now she just looked amused.

"What the hell are you doing, Potter?" asked Lily in a skeptical tone, frowning at him.

James smirked as he pointed up to the ceiling.

Lily looked up as James created fireworks in different shades of pink, white, and red. Many girls screamed while Lily just stared, trying very hard not to be impressed.

With James' guidance, the firework sparks came together to form the words: _Lily, will you go on a date with me?_

It was one of his nicer ones; it almost made Lily break her enraged face. She frowned at him and asked, "Aren't you tired of asking me."

James smiled and with a swish of his wand, the sparks transformed themselves in the word: _Never._

"Why should I go on a date with you, Potter?"

The words changed again. _Because I think we'd have a good time._

Lily smirked slightly and scoffed, "And what would we do?"

James gave Remus, Peter (who was in the background), and Sirius a mischievous smile. With a flourish of his wand, the words rearranged themselves.

This time it said: _I was thinking the sixth floor broom closet. Nice and spacious in there and much cleaner than the others. _

Lily saw red. How dare he? She gave him a chance – a honest chance for him to pull his shit together, but no! She'd kill him.

Lily pulled out her wand and shouted angrily, _"FURNUNCULUS!"_

James neatly dodged the curse and shouted, "Shit! Evans, I was only joking! I'm much classier than that." He then chuckled, "Probably the Astronomy Tower is better for shagging-"

Lily hissed in aggravation, "Potter! You're an A-Class Prick! It's absolutely amazing to me that you'd ever need to use either the broom closet or the Tower! How can any girl be shallow enough to shag you. Must be talking about yourself the whole bloody time-"

"If you ask the girls I've been with, Evans," countered James in a loud voice, "Each one of them will tell you otherwise!"

"No offense, Potter, but the girls you shag can't tell the difference between you and pencil for that matter – they're bloody daft!" Lily shouted as she turned away. "And _that, _Potter, wasn't anything special," she added as she pointed to the ceiling. She then walked away, so desperately wanting to smack Potter.

"Oi, Evans! EVANS!... Bloody hell that girl is going to be the death of me…" murmured James to the rest of the Marauders.

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	18. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Here's another chapter. Thank you for all the reviews, they mean so much! So continue please! Lots of Love, Asia P!

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_February 14__th__, 1977 – Fifth Floor: 11:45am_

James needed a late night smoke. Well, hell, it wasn't that late. But he needed to get out of this room. He needed some fresh air and no matter how much he loved the Marauders, he needed some air that didn't smell like them.

So, James grabbed his invisibility cloak and the Marauders map with him to make sure that no one was following him. He marched his way up to the Astronomy Tower and settled himself there.

He pulled out a cigarette and lit it. God, he was making a proper habit out of this. His mother warned Melanie consistently; James heard the lectures all the time as a child. He thought he would've been smarter than to get addicted to cigarettes.

Melanie had that kind of effect on everyone. She was _charismatic_; it was her most well known trait. A trait that he wished he got as well, but alas no. Sure he could fake charisma, and everyone seemed to appreciate and believe it too. The Marauders in the beginning did, but learned that it wasn't so... real.

Except two people: Evie Williams and Lily Evans.

With Evie it made sense. Hell, Evie was his oldest friend. She knew him when he was the biggest crybaby. So of course, Evie would just laugh at the face of his so-called charisma.

But Lily…

Lily had always been different. That girl could've had any guy in the world to be her so-called best friend and she picked Severus Snape. Sev was a _weird _guy; he was into some dark shit with Mulciber and Avery. At first even he thought it was a rumor, but when he heard about MacDonald being tortured by them… it was there.

She just saw the good. If fucking Voldemort was in her face about to shoot the Killing Curse right in her way, she'd try to make him more humane in some way. Lily would try to find the _good _in him.

She was so un-phased by everything. It was commendable-

James heard groaning. He immediately slipped on the Invisibility Cloak and remained as quiet as possible. He opened up the Marauders' Map and went to Astronomy Tower. There was no one here… but Vanessa Cabot. A third year in Hufflepuff who was on the Quidittch Team as their seeker (pretty good player) with tan skin and dark brown hair.

James hadn't seen her though. Quickly, James began to walk himself over to where she was because she was probably producing those groaning noises. But there was no Vanessa-

"H-h-help…" It was Vanessa's voice, but her normal light voice was gone. It was no replaced

James looked down to see Vanessa. Her body had cuts all over and she was bleeding profusely. It looked like she had been attacked with a knife. Immediately, James threw off his cloak.

"Vanessa?!" James shouted as he bent down to her. He didn't know where to touch her to comfort her or something like it. "Who did this to you?"

Vanessa shook her head feebly and murmured, "I-I d-don't know…"

"Ok, let me get a Professor-"

"JAMES!"

It was Lily Evans and Remus Lupin. Both came running over to them and bent down besides Vanessa.

"Is that…" Remus asked slowly.

"Cabot? Is that Vanessa Cabot?" asked Lily, looking at James for reassurance.

"Yeah…" said James.

"I'll go get a teacher," said Remus, standing up and then scurrying away along with the Marauders' Map to find the closet teacher.

Vanessa tried to move, but she began to cry because of the pain.

"Don't move, Vanessa," said Lily in a soft tone. "It'll only make it worse."

"Make i-it stop," she groaned, most of the bleeding stopped but if she hadn't stopped soon, she'll lose too much blood.

"What were you doing up here?" hissed Lily in a hushed voice.

"I was up here for a… a _smoke_," James said in a somewhat guilty tone.

Lily gave him a look and muttered, "But you only smoke on the third, I thought-"

"Well, shit happens," countered James.

Lily bit her lip and hesistated for a moment before asking cautiously, "James, did you-"

"_You think I did this?" _James asked loudly and angrily.

"No!" shouted Lily. "I was just wondering if you had seen anything-"

"If I had, Lily," James said in a curt tone, "I'm damn sure I would've stopped it- Oh fuck."

"What?" Lily asked.

James pointed up and said in a soft and distant voice, "Look at the ceiling, Lily."

Lily looked up and saw something that scared her half to death.

In what looked like dripping ink, there was a message like the one that had been left back in February. It said, _We warned you, Mudbloods._

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_February 15__th__, 1977 – Headmaster's Office: 11:28am_

James walked up to the Headmaster's Office for his interview with the Ministry Officer about the attack against Vanessa Cabot. Remus had gone first, but was not allowed to talk about it with James. Lily should be finishing up now.

Everyone had been asking him what happened, but he wasn't able to talk about it within reason. Vanessa had been sent off to St. Mungo's because they didn't want her to be in reach of attack again.

James looked up to see Lily come outside. She looked up at him and smiled softly, yet very weakly. Since she had seen the _warning_, Lily had been oddly quiet. She would respond with one word, two word answers and simple head movements mostly.

"Hey," James said, waving at her.

"Hi," Lily said softly, trying to maneuver past him.

"How'd it go?" James asked, facing her. He could see that her eyes were red; it looked almost like she had been crying.

Lily murmured, "You know we're not allowed to talk about it, James." She was about to turn around again.

"You okay?" asked James, almost ashamed by how worried he sounded. He swore his voice almost cracked.

Lily nodded hesitantly. "Yes."

"Lily, these are kids just fucking around-"

"James, please," said Lily, giving him a look. As if she were trying to find the proper words, she finally got out, "I don't want to talk about it anymore."

James nodded, wishing he hadn't said anything initially. He didn't want to push her. "Ok… Well, if you need to talk, I'm here…" God, he sounded pathetic.

Lily smiled softly, like a real smile, and said, "Ok."

"Mr. Potter," a female voice said as she walked out of the Headmaster's office. She wore dark robes that made her platinum blond hair stand out. She had smoky gray eyes and pouty pink lips. She looked like she was in her early thirties. "It's time."

James nodded and then looked to Lily. "I'll see you later?"

Lily nodded, "Yeah."

James walked away as did Lily. He walked into the office and stood in front the chair opposite of Dumbledore's chair.

"My name is Wendy Cox, Investigator for the Ministry," said the woman, putting out her hand. She shook James' hand firmly before motioning him to sit. She then pulled out a quill and a fresh piece of parchment. "James Potter? Related to the Head of Auror Department, are you?" she asked casually as she sat in Dumbledore's seat.

"Yes," James said coolly.

"How?"

James furrowed his brow and said, "Father."

The woman looked up before going back to her notes and saying, "Interesting." She took note of that for some reason. She then rubbed her chin with her fingers and said, "Come from a powerful family, I see."

"You could say that."

Miss Cox looked up and asked, "Pureblood or half-blood?"

He didn't like the question at all. "Pure."

Miss Cox then went back to her notes and jotted that down as well. "Now this is a little off topic, but what was your relationship with the late Mr. Conner Harper?"

James hadn't heard anyone mention Conner in a while – it was almost like a taboo topic to make sure that Sandra Dorman didn't cry.

"Um… housemate," James said in a soft tone.

"Were you two close?" asked Miss Cox, noting down almost every word that James had said.

James shrugged, "He wasn't my closest friend, but he was a good guy."

Miss Cox nodded. She crossed her arms and looked at James questioningly and asked, "What were you doing in the Astronomy Tower last night?"

James had felt that this was going to be asked. He looked away and said, "I needed some fresh air."

"You do have a window, correct?" asked Miss Cox. "I see that you're in Gryffindor – you have a nice tower. Plenty of air there."

"I needed a smoke," James said shortly. "And Remus isn't a fan when I do it in the room."

"Remus Lupin? Prefect?"

"Yes. One of my closest friends."

Miss Cox took note of that. She then looked up and said, "How'd you get up there? No one saw you."

"Why would I want anyone to see me smoking on the Astronomy Tower?" asked James.

Miss Cox nodded, acknowledging it. "But how did you do it? Prefects on every floor and not one managed to see you."

"I've gotten good at sneaking around," James shrugged.

Miss Cox scoffed, "Oh?"

"I've had the detentions to prove it."

Miss Cox then crossed her legs and leaned back. "So you went up to the Astronomy Tower for a smoke. No one saw you move around _secretly _in one of the best schools in our world, but you did manage it anyway. What time was this around?"

"Almost eleven," James said after a moment, not liking this woman at all. He had always been taught to never hit or hex woman, but hell, this woman was on his nerves.

Miss Cox nodded, writing down the notes. She then asked, "Vanessa Cabot? You know the girl?"

James nodded, "Yeah, sort of. She's the seeker for the Hufflepuff Quidittch team. Decent player."

Miss Cox got up and looked around the room to the calendar. She then noticed something interesting. She pointed to February 19th and said, "Gryffindor has a game against Hufflepuff, don't they? That's coming up quite soon."

James knew where this was going. He frowned and clutched the handles on the chair. "You think _I _did this?" James asked in disbelief.

"Well," said Miss Cox, in a calm voice, as she began pacing the room in a slow manner with her hands behind her back. "From what it looks like from Professor Dumbledore, it looks like Gryffindor hasn't won a Quidittch cup in four years. Shame…"

"It is, but I wouldn't go around hexing third years to make us win-"

"Well from your records," said Miss Cox, dropping a big manila file on the desk, "You're known to hex younger students, Mr. Potter. Forty-five detentions for hexing younger students-"

"Those were jokes!" shouted James. "I haven't done that since last year!"

"But you have done it, Mr. Potter!" shouted Miss Cox. She leaned over and pulled out a sheet of paper and began to read off of it, "_Link Renner – the stinging curse. Harold Parker – the bat-boogey curse. Miles Hanson – the Leg Locker curse. Willy Winston – the tongue tying curse-"_

"All right!" shouted James, standing up. "What I did last year and when I was younger was wrong!" He then slammed his hands against the desk and said, "But I would never _ever _hurt someone like that! Vanessa Cabot is a good kid – she hasn't done anything wrong-"

"Sit down, Mr. Potter," said Miss Cox, pointing her wand at him. "Please."

James sighed in frustration and sat back down.

Miss Cox then sat on the table and placed her hands on her lap. She then raised an eyebrow and said, "Quite a temper you got?"

James scoffed, "You haven't seen anything yet, Miss Cox."

She smirked, "Is that what happened when you were Miss Cabot?"

"I told you," said James in a very aggravated his voice, "I would never hurt Vanessa Cabot. It's a pure-blood supremacist! You must've seen the threat that the assailant put up… Oh…" James scoffed in disbelief, "You think I'm a pure blood supremacist."

Miss Cox shrugged, "I can see every reason why you would." She began to list them, putting up her fingers to aid her, "Wealthy family. Popular student. Why would you want to share it with Muggle borns?"

James looked at her and said in a very even tone, "You've got to be daft."

Miss Cox frowned and warned in a cold voice, "Watch it, Mr. Potter."

"Two of my best friends are half-bloods. Bloody hell, Evans! Lily Evans is a muggle-born! God, she… she… she…"

"She what?" asked Miss Cox in an impatient tone.

"She's one of my best friends!" shouted James. "I trust her with my life! If you want to start pointing fingers at someone who hates Muggle-borns, look somewhere else." He got up and walked out, muttering fucking bitch under his breath. He opened the door and was about to walk out.

"Mr. Potter! We are not done-"

"But I think he is, Miss Cox." It was Dumbledore coming down from the top area. He then said, "I think you got what you need for your investigation, Miss Cox. In my utmost kindest tone, I'm asking you to leave the grounds and stop questioning my students on their beliefs."

Miss Cox sighed, "You know… someone is writing those messages, Dumbledore. It's one of those times where it could be anyone-"

"And I vouch for Mr. Potter that it is not him who believes in Pure Blood supremacy," said Dumbledore.

"And how can be sure?" Miss Cox asked.

"Because he… _has _fallen for a muggle-born girl," said Dumbledore with a smile. He then looked to Miss Cox and said, "And love is the biggest belief that anyone has… even more than supremacy."

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	19. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Here's another chapter! Please **Review** and Enjoy!

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_February 19__th__, 1977 – Astronomy Tower: 12:21am_

Vanessa Cabot was back, but still in the Hospital Wing. Madam Promfrey and her Healer at St. Mungo's decided that Vanessa is not to play for another month until she is completely recovered.

She had taken it pretty well. Her muggle born parents were very angry, but Dumbledore explained that they were doing everything in their power to find out the culprit. Vanessa just wanted to play Quidditch again.

James was tired – people asked him so many questions recently, not as much as Vanessa, but his fair share. All he wanted was some fucking piece of quiet. Now, he loved the Marauders, but hell, they talked a lot.

James took another puff of his cigarette. "Fuck…"

"Up here again, James?"

James turned around and saw Lily. She was in her sweats and undershirt. She had looked tired and sat down beside him. "You're making a habit out of that," she said as she pointed to James' cigarette.

"I know…" James muttered, looking at it.

Lily took it out of his hand and examined it carefully. "I've never seen the appeal of it," she said softly, handing it back to him.

James shrugged, "There is no appeal. It's an addiction, Lily."

"Why'd your sister start?"

James almost jumped at the question. So few people asked about Melanie that when someone did, he would freeze. He gulped as he looked back at Lily and said, "Never told me. I suppose I was too young."

Lily nodded, but said nothing. She could tell that James had possibly more to say.

"But," James said after a moment, "She did always look… _cool _with it. Maybe that's why." He then let out a long puff of air and threw the butt of the cigarette into the air. He pointed his wand at it and said coolly, _"Evanesco!" _

"You and Evie are a lot alike, you know that?" Lily laughed. "She does that exact same trick when she wants to get rid of a cig."

James smiled, "Melanie used to do that."

Lily bit her lip and murmured, "You're really close to Evie, aren't you?"

James shrugged, "Yeah. The Marauders are my best friends, Sirius is my _best _friend, and Evie… Evie's my oldest friend."

Teasingly, Evie asked, "So what I am?"

James smirked and winked, "Girl… girlfriend."

Lily scoffed, "Cocky arse."

James smiled proudly with a simple nod. He looked at Lily and smiled even more brightly at the sight. Her light skin shone brightly and her green eyes… twinkled softly. Her pink lips looked so…

He leaned in, still looking down at her lips.

"James," Lily warned as she leaned back slowly.

James immediately pulled back and got up. He then wiped his brow, though there was no sweat, and said, "Sorry about that." He grabbed his cloak and casually rested it on his shoulder. "You coming?"

Lily shook her head, still flustered by the kiss attempt, "I'm on prefect duty-"

"They still have you doing that?" James asked incredulously.

Lily nodded, "Someone has to."

He rolled his eyes and asked cautiously, "Want me to stay-"

"No, it's all right," said Lily, a bit too quickly. She chewed the inside of her cheek, and looked somewhat embarrassed. "I… I put money on Gryffindor tomorrow, well rather a good deal," said Lily as she looked up. Much more confidently, Lily said with a smirk, "I need you at your A-game tomorrow, Potter."

James scoffed as he picked up the Marauder's Map. He was about to say good night, but another question popped into his mind. He furrowed his brow for a moment and said, "Lily?"

"Yes?"

Gulping down his fear of judgment, James cleared his throat. "Why…" He just found a bit of difficulty in going on. "Why did you always reject me each time I asked you out?"

Lily laughed as if it were a joke.

"I'm serious, Lily," James said more sternly, finding his courage somewhere.

"Oh…" Lily immediately stopped laughing. She looked around and bit her lip. She looked back at James with clear eyes and an honest gaze. "You're aren't ready for a relationship, James."

James raised an eyebrow. "What'd you mean? Of course, I'm ready for a relationship-"

Lily shook her head and said, "It's not a bad thing, James. We're students, we're young, and we deserve to live a little now, especially with a war outside of the castle walls. You play around with girls, nothing serious. It's really not a bad thing at all actually – Evie lives by it, and so does Sirius and others. It's just not what I want… I'm bad with losing people."

"And you think Robert Smith wants an actual relationship?" asked James in a bit of a harsh tone.

Lily looked taken back. She shrugged, "I… I haven't thought about it that far. But either way, haven't you moved past me?"

James lied to himself and to Lily in that moment. He didn't know why he suddenly felt angry – it was an unpleasant feeling. It was almost like he had been completely rejected by her. "Yeah – I suppose I have… Night, Lily."

"Night, James," Lily said softly, noticing she had done something stupid.

_February 19__th__, 1977 – Quidditch Pitch: 12:54pm_

"Come on, James," pleaded Lily, watching as James flew through the sky with the Quaffle in his arm.

Gryffindor wasn't looking too hot. Hufflepuff must've did some major practices to compensate for Vanessa being out. It was currently twenty to 60.

"I've never know that you were so into Quidditch, Lily," mused Remus.

Evie scoffed, "Oh please. She put three galleons on Gryffindor as a way for Ursula Cross to way to say that Gryffindor is better…"

Remus and Peter laughed lowly, but their laughs were drowned out by a loud female voice.

"AND TRAM MOVES PAST FISHER, PAST WILLET, AND PAST BLYE TOO! OH AND THERE HE GOES – AND FIFTH YEAR ROBBIE TRAM SCORES ANOTHER TEN POINTS FOR GRYFFINDOR… the boy is rather good-looking for a fifth year-"

"Meadowes…" growled Professor McGonagall.

Dorcas Meadowes was a seventh year with long brown hair and light gray eyes. She was a very funny Gryffindor student.

"Oh thank god!" Lily sighed, feeling a tiny bit relieved.

"Right, sorry. PEAKS THROWS THE BALL TO FOURTH YEAR ANGELA CROMWELL. CROMWELL PASSES IT JENKINS – AND ANOTHER TEN FOR HUFFLEPUFF. Well, hell, when was Hufflepuff able to play a decent game of Quidditch-"

"MEADOWES!"

"AND FOURTH YEAR GRYFFINDOR KEEPER, LEO BANKS, PASSES IT OVER TO POTTER. POTTER SWERVES PAST HUFFLEPUFF THIRD YEAR, ARIADNE SUMMERS, AND XAVIER GODFREY TO THE – AND KEEPER MITCHELL HAWKINS INTERCEPTS… well screw me and call me Sally… AND HAWKINS PASSES IT BACK TO – OH WAIT, GRYFFINDOR QUIDDITCH DANNY CRENSHAW CALLS FOR A TIME-OUT. YES, TEN MINUTE TIMEOUT."

All the fliers landed. Gryffindor didn't look so confident – they looked tired and worn-out. Very annoyed and irritated.

From where Lily could see in the bleachers, Danny was not happy.

"Oh – Danny's not happy with James," murmured Evie as she pulled back her binoculars and passed them to Pettigrew.

"How do you know?" asked Lily.

"Danny has his mad face on – a rare, but memorable experience," explained Evie.

Lily motioned for the binoculars and looked down at the Gryffindor side. Danny was yelling at James angrily and he was yelling back. It didn't look pretty. What Lily could make out, Sirius was trying to defend James, but hell, Sirius was also pretty fed up with James as well.

"I'll be back," said Lily quickly as she passed the binoculars back to Pettigrew and ran away.

She ran quickly down the stairs of the bleachers and into the Gryffindor Quidittch. Someone had to give this boy a proper yelling-

"Evans!" shouted Crenshaw in surprise. He then cleared his throat, "You can't be here."

"Where is the bloody idiot?" asked Lily, crossing her arms impatiently.

"Evans, I can't let you-"

"I know the rules, Crenshaw," said Lily, "and I'm not breaking any. Come on, where is he?"

"Second line," revealed Crenshaw, and pointed to the second line of lockers.

Lily walked over and saw James sitting on a bench, looking positively dreadful. He had his face pressed against his hands, which were propped up by his knees.

"Oi!" Lily shouted, pushing his shoulder.

James looked up and said, "L-lily? The fuck are you doing?"

"Making you pull your shit together," Lily said shortly.

"Oh, I don't need a fucking lecture from you, Lily," James said irritably, glaring at her. "Thank you though. Now, if you don't mind, would you properly fuck off?"

"I'm not going to give you a bloody lecture," she said, moving in front of him. "And no, I'm not going to _properly fuck off._"

"Well, just go bother someone else then!" shouted James. "You aren't helping! So why don't you go off and bet some more money on me-"

"Oh god," Lily groaned irritably, rolling her eyes.

"And to top it off," added James, "Why don't you go find Smith and have your perfect bloody relationship-"

"THIS IS NOT ABOUT SMITH!" shouted Lily, stamping her foot like a child. She rubbed the bridge of her nose. "It's about me losing three galleons and my pride-"

"YOUR PRIDE?!" James shouted angrily while standing up. "Fuck, this is about your pride?! Well, shit, Lily. You stepped on my pride for the past five years and last night-"

"I vouched for you! I said Gryffindor was going to win because they had you on the team!" Lily countered, causing James to step back for a moment. He did the bet for him…? "I bet my money because I knew you could pull through and I don't like when people were talking about my friends. So stop acting like a little girl and go kick Hufflepuff's arse for not just me, but your own god damn pride!"

He felt a load lighten off of him. Lily Evans… defending him? What has the world come to? James bit his lower lip and shrugged, "It was a nice try, Lily. But I don't think your little _pep talk _is going to be of much use-"

"Well what will?"

James smirked cockily, but in a fairly joking manner as well. "Well, a good luck kiss on the lips is always worth a shot-"

Without the slightest bit of hesitation, Lily grabbed James' face into her hands. She pulled him down to her lips and kissed him.

James just stared at her, blinking rapidly, as she kissed him with much force and tenderly. Her warm lips felt so soft against his and James just wanted to feel her closer. He was about to reach down and hold her, but all too soon, Lily pulled back and dropped her hands to her hips. "Happy now? And I wasn't even wasted – that should make you feel ten times better, _Potter_."

Madam Hooch's whistle went off.

The other Gryffindor players were watching the two students eagerly, Sirius most notably was giggling like a pre-pubescent girl. Crenshaw then began pushing them away.

"Come on, Potter!" shouted Crenshaw.

Lily gave James' a look and said simply, "Now, go fuck Hufflepuff up."

A smile from ear to ear occurred on James' face. He clapped his hands together and ran at the guys, "All right, here we go! Hufflepuff is going down."

"Idiot…" Lily sighed with a small smile as she shook her head.

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**Reviews are like my crack...**


	20. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

And here's the after-party! LOL - Please Enjoy and REVIEW.

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_February 20__th__, 1977 – Gryffindor Common Room: 12:14am_

"GRYFFINDOR! GRYFFINDOR! GRYFFINDOR!"

The Gryffindor common room was filled with cheers since they beat Hufflepuff by a landslide. Everyone was amazed that they began to win so suddenly.

James Potter just kept winning – he somehow managed to win them 140 more points consecutively right before Gryffindor seeker Therese de la Cruz managed to grab the snitch.

"Hey! Hey!"

Danny Crenshaw stood up on a couch, holding a red solo cup in the air. He was clearly besotted – he was wobbling and clearly had trouble holding up his cup properly.

"I want to make a-a toast!" shouted Crenshaw. He motioned for everyone to put up his or her cup in the air. He then cleared his throat and said, "This is… this is for Potter!"

James, who was currently talking to Evie and Lily, looked awed. He was fairly sober too.

"Pooooootttttttteeeeeerrrrr!" Danny shouted loudly, pointing to him. "You were… fucking marvelous! Fuck, you just shat on Hufflepuff's life! That was b-bloody brilliant-"

"Thank you, Crenshaw," James said, chuckling lightly at Crenshaw's completely wasted state.

"And to the whole team too!" Crenshaw went on, shouting. "Robbie Tram! Leo Banks! Sirius Black! Therese DLC! And Kendra Atkins! You properly fucked up out there today! Oh! Oh! Oh! One last one! Last one goes to someone who isnt on our team, but helped majorly! Lily Evans!"

Lily's eyes widened at the thought. "Schwat?" Lily was a bit fucking wasted as well. She had slurring issues as well.

"Evans, I don't know what you did to whip Potter's shape into ass… no, that's wrong… ass into shape, there it is! You fucking did it! Next year, when I leave, I leave you in command of doing that since I'm appointing him captain!"

James' jaw dropped. "Really?"

"Yessssss! It was you or Black, and he paid me to give it to you because then he would have responsibilities. HA! Hard life, Potty."

Sirius Black, who was currently surrounded by a bunch of fourth year girls, gave a big thumbs up to his friend.

"So, good luck to you next year, Potty!" Crenshaw laughed. "WOOOO! This is some good firewhiskey-"

"Danny," Evie said as she walked up to him, tugging on his pants. "You're trying too hard, Love."

Danny looked down at her and narrowed his eyes at her. "Is that you, Evie? My main girl Evie Williams?"

"Yes, Dan," She sighed tiredly.

"You've gotten pretty hot over the years," Danny said bluntly, still glaring at her.

James and Lily began to laugh to one another – this was brilliant to them.

"Why thank you," Evie said shortly.

"Really hot," Crenshaw went on – his drunken state must've not allowed him to realize that the whole common room was watching… along with a slightly pissed off looking Sirius Black.

"That's great," Evie said, chuckling a little as well. "Now, Danny come down-"

But before Evie could go on with her request, Danny swooped down and pressed his lips against Evie's. The whole room filled with oohs and ahhs. Everyone began to cheer them on… except Sirius Black.

"You're so fucking drunk!" Evie laughed as she pulled back.

"Once before I graduate for old time's sake?" Danny asked, smiling brightly.

Evie looked around nervously and in the corner of her eye, saw that Sirius was glaring at her. Once they made eye contact, Sirius immediately began flirting with the fourth years again. She turned to Danny and said, "Head Boy's room it is." She took Danny by the hand and lead him upstairs. Sirius watched in horror.

James turned to Lily and murmured, "That's not going to be pretty."

"'Morrow is going to be a hellllllllllll ride," agreed Lily, laughing as she took a sip of her Firewhiskey. She leaned her head against James' shoulder and murmured into his bicep, "I've had too much to drink."

"You need me to take you upstairs?" asked James, kindly.

"Nah, I think I'll just take a walk – it's sooooooooo noisy in here," groaned Lily. She stood up and swayed a little. James stood up and steadied her.

"Let me help," offered James, helping her outside. They stood outside of the common room and just let Lily catch her breath.

"Shmanks by the way," slurred Lily.

"What for?" asked James.

"You… you won! You got a shitloadddddd of points!" Lily laughed as she pushed James' shoulder.

"Your pep talk," James smiled.

Lily let out a snort and muttered, "Damn right."

Despite being completely wasted, Lily still looked quite pretty in that moment. She was wearing a light blue cardigan with a gray tank top that stopped right above her hip line. Her jeans hugged her lean and well-sculpted legs in a lovely fashion. Her red hair was tucked in a high ponytail, sort of rushed, but in a nice one nonetheless.

She always looked nice.

James had a sudden urge to kiss her, press his lips against hers. She'd probably be fantastic at snogging. Her warm oft skin under the touch of his hands. Her whispering his name. All would be fantastic.

But no, she was so drunk. None of it would mean a single thing. It would be a meaningless hook-up that he knew for a fact that Lily would regret a hundred percent.

So, he didn't. He just talked with her drunken self (which was quite amusing in all honesty) for about another hour or so, before they decided to go back in and go back to bed.

James honestly didn't know how much he could take from this girl without being with her...

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_February 21__st__, 1977 – First Floor Hallway: 07:59am_

"Oh, did you hear about Williams?"

"What now?"

"She slept with Crenshaw!"

"Isn't that her godbrother?!"

"Yeah – she just can't keep anyone out of her pants."

Evie was used to these comments. Most girls didn't know what they were saying and just followed the rumors that spread around Hogwarts like wild fire. To be honest, she didn't even sleep around _that_ much.

It all started out back at the end of her fifth year. Rumors spread so… poorly – like a bad game of telephone. When she slept with Michael Crenshaw, Michael Crenshaw told a Seventh year friend. Someone must've overheard, but didn't see who was talking, and assumed it was someone else because the culprit thought it was a Slytherin Seventh year Miles Shay who Evie had actually slept with. The seventh year went around saying that Evie had slept Michael, while someone else (most likely Tyler Kane) said that Evie had slept with Miles Shay. And Miles Shay wasn't going to deny sleeping with the hot Evie Williams.

Evie tried to stop it, but it was no point. She just took it in the end, tried to not let it affect her. Whatever…

And let's get one thing straight, Evie _did _not sleep with Danny. That's absolutely positively disgusting. In actuality, she just brought Danny up to his bed and helped him to go to sleep. And in all honesty, he was so drunk he probably wouldn't have been a decent fuck at that point.

"Hey Williams!"

Evie just gave the owner of the voice and eyebrow raise.

It was Lucinda Talkalot – a snobby sixth year Slytherin student. She was a fairly pretty girl with blond hair and dark green eyes. She also had a reputation of getting around, but she claimed that all the boys couldn't get enough of her and she had a hard time saying no to people.

Evie didn't have a problem with people who had a lot of sex. She didn't call people sluts, whores, or prositutues; she didn't care. She believed that people should do "whatever the fuck they'd like" and liked it that way. But Talkalot – she was a bitch. Evie decided that she probably had a venereal disease because of the places where she decided to her business…

"So you added Crenshaw to your list of fucks? What are we on now? A hundred?" sniggered Lucinda Talkalot, laughing with Emily Nott.

Evie simply replied, "Jealous, Talkalot? Beat you to it." She gave her a patronizing wink and grin.

It was a lie. Evie could count the number of guys she slept with on her fingers. Lucinda Talkalot… maybe not.

"What a slut," hissed Talkalot.

"Slut – a promiscuous woman," said Evie as if she were reading the definition from a dictionary. "The pot calling the kettle black? Maybe you should get better sources, Darling." Evie turned around and began to walk away,

Talkalot shouted at her, "Well, watch out, Williams! It's serious this time. The whole school will know when Sirius Black is through with it."

Evie froze. _Sirius Black… _She turned around and said coldly, "Sirius Black told you?"

"Yeah," nodded Lucinda, as if it were obvious. "He was talking to Tyler Kane about it."

Evie felt her chest tighten and her fists clench. She could feel her nails dig into her skin. She immediately turned around and marched angrily into the Great Hall, where most students were eating breakfast.

There, she saw Sirius Black, eating breakfast with Lily and the Marauders. Not knowing where this sudden impulsive attitude came from, Evie smacked Sirius across the head with the back of her hand.

"Ouch – the fuck is wrong with you, Williams?" He groaned, rubbing his head. The Marauders cringed in imaginary pain for the friend.

"I thought we were friends, you pompous arse!" Evie shouted, shaking with anger.

"What the bloody hell did I do?" shouted Sirius, staring at her as if she were crazy.

"You go around talking about me behind my back and putting my business out in the open – what the hell is wrong with you?"

Sirius stood up, towering over her small body, and shouted back, "I don't know what you're talking about, Evie!"

"Bullshit!"

"Evie…" James and Lily whispered together in hushed voices, noticing that other people were staring at them. Evie ignored them.

"I don't go around, telling bitches who've you slept with, do I?" Evie went on in an accusatory tone. "Especially loud mouths like Lucinda Talkalot and Tyler Kane!"

"So you did sleep with Crenshaw?" asked Sirius, raising an eyebrow before glaring at her.

"So you have been telling people?" Evie said, somewhat shocked. Somewhere deep down inside, she had hoped that Lucinda Talkalot was just trying to get under her skin by using Sirius Black. She then let her brow furrow and said in the most blatant tone, "You're an asshole-"

"Mr. Black! Miss Williams! Do we have a problem here?"

It was Professor McGonagall, glaring at her two students with a stern eye. Her hands were on her hips.

"No," the two said. Sirius was much more stern than Evie, whose tone had softened, still out of surprise.

"How about breakfast then?"

"Thank you," growled Sirius, sitting back down.

"Actually, Professor, I think I'm not even hungry," said Evie, before dismissing herself. She walked away, almost running away.

McGonagall raised an eyebrow up at Sirius and then walked away. It wasn't her job to involve herself with children in that way.

"What was that all about?" Remus asked, watching Evie turn the corner.

"Bloody hell if I know," grumbled Sirius, biting off a large part of his French Toast.

"Wait," Lily said, realizing something, "you think that Evie _actually_ slept with Crenshaw?"

"Well, didn't they?" asked Peter.

Lily let out guffaw before shaking her head. "No, of course not! Evie is like Danny's real sister. They would never. You actually believed her?!"

Sirius dropped his fork and looked at her. "But she said last night…"

"She brought him up to bed and put him to sleep. She then went to bed herself," revealed Lily in slow voice for him to understand. She let out a long sigh and said in a slow voice, "She didn't want to reject Danny in front of everyone, especially after their win." Lily decided to voluntarily leave out the part in which Evie said that she wanted to give Sirius a run for his money.

"Why would she do that?" asked Sirius incredulously. "She'll look like a slut that way."

"Evie _isn't _a slut though, Sirius!" shouted Lily, throwing a grape at him, past James. "Evie doesn't even believe in the word, but she isn't one technically either. She hasn't slept with _that _many guys, people just think she has because she doesn't stop the rumors about her."

"Why?! That makes no sense!" shouted Sirius, throwing his hands up dramatically.

"Because Evie doesn't care what people think of her," revealed James, sipping on some Pumpkin juice. "People can talk all the shit about her in the world and she'll think they're talking about the weather. But when it's her friends starting them- Padfoot, did you tell everyone that she was sleeping with Crenshaw?"

Sirius looked guilty. "Well, yes… not really…"

"Sirius…" Remus said in a scolding voice.

"Well, no!" Sirius said defensively. He ran a hand through his short hair and said, "Kane was mentioning it to me on the staircase this morning, coming down to breakfast. She kept talking about it and I said, _I don't give a shit who Evie has slept with._" Sirius took a deep breath and groaned before going on. "And then I added, _So what if she slept with Danny Crenshaw. Hasn't she slept with a lot of other guys?"_

Everyone rolled their eyes at him, except Peter.

"Idiot…" grumbled Lily.

"Oh come on! How was I supposed to know that she didn't really?" shouted Sirius in a defensive tone.

"That doesn't give you a right to talk about who she's slept with!" snapped Lily. She then let out a groan and muttered, "And Kane too! She'd do anything to make Evie look bad."

"Why?" Sirius asked curiously.

"Because Kane _fancies_ you, Sirius!" shouted Lily, a bit too loud. Sirius jumped at the loudness of her voice and the information. "And she'd do anything to make Evie look bad in front of you."

"Why?" James asked, curious too this time.

Lily gave him a look and then looked back at his friend, pointing her finger at him. "Because your dear friend here wants to fuck her."

"How do you know that?!" shouted Sirius, staring at her with wide eyes. He then glared at the Marauders and asked angrily, "Who broke Bro-Code?! Which one of you assholes I call friends?!" The three Marauders shook their head quickly to prove their innocence.

Lily threw another grape at him to gain his attention. "I don't need one of your friends to tell me something so obvious, though Peter here has loose lips-"

"I'll kill you, Wormtail," growled Sirius.

Peter smiled cautiously, scared for his life.

"Either way," Lily went, waving her hand impatiently, "every chance you bloody get, your eyes go right to Evie's ass or tits. And you can't help yourself from flirting or touching her somehow since you two made out at Peter's party.

"So naturally, Kane notices it too. She already hates Evie enough for being more popular than her and screwing around with her older brother. This just adds to the list! Also, Kane was there when Evie was telling me about how she didn't _screw _Danny Crenshaw."

Sirius rubbed a hand over his face. "How badly did I fuck up?" He asked softly. "On a scale of one to ten."

Lily and James looked at each other and then back at Sirius before saying in unison, "Nine point five."

"Christ," groaned Sirius, before resting his head on the table.

"Let's check now," offered James. "Oi, Danny!"

Danny Crenshaw looked like he had a mighty hangover. He had a hand over his eyes and walked through the Great Hall. He walked over to James and asked groggily, "What's up, Potter?"

"Hey, did you blackout last night?" James asked.

Danny shook his head, "I unfortunately remember everything."

Lily looked up at him and asked, "Did you sleep with Evie?"

Danny made a gagging noise, very similar to a cat dying. He then let out a shudder before saying, "If you mean in the most literal sense, yes. She stayed with me until I fell asleep. God, I'd think I might die knowing that I fucked her. She might be hot, but she's like my sister. Gross, why?"

"Just trying to clarify some rumors," smiled Lily. "Thank you – drink lots of water, Crenshaw."

"I know," sighed Danny.

Lily motioned to Danny, who was now walking away. "See?"

"Off point, Sirius," teased James.

"Yeah, I get it," hissed Sirius. He then glared at both of them and said, "I dislike this new camaraderie between you two."

Lily and James just smiled as Remus and Peter laughed.

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They trolled together :D Review please (P.S - thanks for supplying my imaginary crack ;D)


	21. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

I think people will like the end result of this chapter or what it will lead to... opps, maybe I shouldn't have given you a hint. :P LOL whatever. But either way, please review.

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_April 1__st__, 1977 – Grand Staircase: 06:58pm_

The end of February and the month of March passed by smoothly with no weird attacks or threatening messages toward Muggle-borns. The Marauders, Evie, and Lily hung out (Evie managed to somewhat look past Sirius' bad choice about talking to Tyler Kane about her sex life). James continued to help with Lily's adventure in getting with Smith, which was going pretty smoothly.

Lily and Evie walked out of dinner at the Great Hall together. It was an interesting April Fool's nonetheless. The Marauders pulled a delightful prank against Peeves, some rude younger slytherin students, and Snape too. It was a good day for them, of course, Lily didn't approve of their antics, there was no way in stopping them.

"Hey, Evans!" shouted Smith, running after her up the stairs.

Evie gave Lily a wink before motioning for her to stay and talk to him. Lily looked at her anxiously before turning around and smiling prettily. "Oh hi, Smith."

Smith casually ran his hand through his hair and smiled. "How're you today?" He asked casually as they began walking up the stairs.

Lily shrugged casually. "I'm all right. Ready for the weekend."

"Yeah, same," nodded Smith. He rubbed his neck and sighed, "Speaking of the weekend… Um, they're doing Hogsmeade this weekend, right?"

Lily nodded, not entirely sure where this was going, but she was definitely not going to stop him. More time with Smith, the better.

"You… you wanna go together?"

Lily's eyes widened. She turned to face Smith with her jaw slackened a little. She gulped. No… was Smith asking her on a date? Impossible! For the last four months, she has been waiting for this moment! But no… this must've been luck or something-

"Is this some April Fools' joke?" Lily asked, somewhat teasingly to make it seem like she was pretty cool about it, no matter what the answer was.

Smith gulped. He took a moment and said in a serious tone, "No."

Lily felt a combination of guilt for assuming it was and relief roll through her body. Smith wanted a date!

"Oh… sure," Lily smiled.

"Really?" asked Smith, elated by her answer. His eyes lit up and his smile brightened as Lily confirmed her answer with a solid and confident nod. "Brilliant. I'll meet you at Three BroomSticks at about one?"

"Sounds good," Lily said as she veered off towards Gryffindor tower. "I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Ok, see you then!" smiled Smith as he walked over to Ravenclaw tower.

Lily practically skipped through the halls. She gave the Fat Lady the week's password (Poppy) and skipped her way into the Tower. There she saw Evie talking with the Marauders.

"JAMES!" Lily squealed, running over to him and placing a big kiss on his cheek. She grabbed his face in her hands and said, "You're absolutely brilliant."

"Oh, Darling, you've just realized?" James asked cockily, smiling at her. "But how was my daring brilliance used this time?"

"Smith asked me on a date!" Lily said as she clapped her hands together, smiling from ear to ear.

James nearly chocked on air as Evie got up and did something she normally never did: she began squealing for her.

"Oh my god! Finally!" Evie shouted as she hugged her tightly. "I was wondering when the boy would finally grow a pair to ask you. So, when is it?"

"Tomorrow at Hogsmeade," smiled Lily. She grabbed Evie's hand and pouted, "Help me pick an outfit?"

Normally Evie would've said no, but since this was Lily it was different. "Oh fine," she sighed. Lily immediately grabbed Evie's hand and ran up the stairs.

James was left in a state of shock with the rest of the Marauders. He groaned into his hand and rubbed his eyes, moving his glasses out his eyes. "Fuck…" he muttered under his breath.

"You good, James?" Remus asked, patting his shoulder.

"I've been better," said James. "A lot better."

_April 2__nd__, 1977 – Three Broomsticks: 04:16pm_

Lily laughed into her hand at Smith's corny, but cute joke.

It was a cute date. Evie helped Lily pick a simple, but sweet outfit: a blue cardigan, a lacy white undershirt, a pair of black leggings, and a pair of brown lace-up boots. She looked lovely with her hair tucked into a loose knot at the back of her head.

"That was bad," murmured Smith, a bit sheepishly.

"No, it was cute," smiled Lily. She was about to put down five sickles of her two butterbeers, but Smith shook his head.

"I got this," insisted Smith. He put down ten sickles and motioned for her to get up out of their booth. They had about another fifteen minutes before they were to meet up with the rest of the students. So, what to do now?

It was a rainy cold day in Hogsmeade. Smith put the umbrella and they began walking under it. Despite both being relatively underneath the umbrella, they were both getting wet from the rain. So, he pulled Lily's hand and tugged her hand.

Lily felt her heartbeat quicken and bit her lip nervously. This was sweet. They walked through the streets of Hogsmeade peacefully as they talked about regular stuff, but something clicked when Smith said, "Yeah, my favorite movie is Chinatown – a muggle movie, brilliant."

That was Lily's movie.

Without realizing the connotation behind the saying, Lily smiled, "I could literally kiss you right now." Lily blushed immediately – she didn't mean it like that. It was a saying, wasn't it? She was elated with the fact that they had the same favorite movie. She didn't realize what she actually meant-

"Yeah, you could," Smith murmured with a lightness to his tone, some sincerity to his tone.

With that little statement, Lily found some type of courage. She gulped down any self-doubt. She turned to him and stopped walking. Smith looked down at her as Lily pulled him down gently in for a soft, chaste kiss. She then kept them moving.

Finding a small alley, Smith pulled her in. He let the umbrella drop and proceeded to kiss Lily much more fiercly. Lily decided that Smith was a decent kisser – not bad at all. He didn't use too much tongue, he didn't bite her lip too hard, and he didn't keep his hands idle. Well… there was just no… no spark.

"So…" Lily murmured as they paused briefly, forehead-to-forehead. "Is this a thing?"

Smith shrugged softly, "Yeah – I guess it is." He then proceeded to kiss her again. He continued to kiss her gently. Lily was truly waiting for that spark, but it just didn't come-

"Stop it, James! You're acting like a prat- Oh lord."

It was Evie's voice and soon her body appeared. It was Evie with the Marauders. Sirius and Peter were smirking at the sight of Lily in the arms of Smith. Remus looked away, embarrassed for catching them. James just frowned.

"Uh hi," murmured Lily, stepping back from Smith's embrace.

"We'll see you at the meeting point," said Evie, pushing Sirius and Peter away. "See you – oh come on, James!" She grabbed him by the sleeve of his leather jacket and dragged him away unwillingly.

Lily looked up at Smith, who gave her a weary smile. They then walked hand-in-hand behind them.

The walk back to Hogwarts was fine. They walked and talked a little while holding hands. Once they got back to the tower, Lily said, "I'll see you at dinner?"

Smith nodded with a small smile, "See you then."

They walked off and in the corner of her eye, Lily noticed Smith running off to his friend. They were laughing with him, giving him a pat on the back. It would've been strange to Lily if she hadn't been so happy with the day.

She ran up to her room and noticed that Evie was there, doing some homework before dinner. She looked up and gave Lily a smirk, "So, tell me everything!"

Lily smiled sheepishly as she sat down on her bed. "It was… nice."

"Well, clearly, since you snogged the living daylights out of each other in that alley. On a scale of one to ten, how good was he?"

Lily shrugged, "An eight. A solid snog."

Evie smiled with a nod. "Decent. So, another a date?"

"I guess," said Lily, shrugging, "We established that it was a _thing._"

"A thing?" Evie asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah… Can I ask you something, Evie?"

"Sure."

"Have you every felt a spark when you kissed someone?" asked Lily.

Evie pondered the question thoughtfully and said, "A spark is different for everyone. I felt something that was… _nice. _But a spark isn't how I'd describe a kiss, Lily."

Lily nodded. Somewhere deep down inside, the kiss wasn't as nice as one little peck with James Potter… but no, that wasn't right. She was sort of with Smith now.

"True," nodded Lily.

It was weird though.

Maybe Smith was feeling the same way because all of sudden they weren't talking anymore. Lily was about to approach Smith during dinner and breakfast on Sunday, but he'd turn around and walk the other way. In classes like Transfiguration and DADA, he would do the same as well. He would just walk away from her, pretending as if she didn't exist. It was probably more awkward than before they even began talking more regularly. It was like this for three days.

"He's not talking to me…" Lily whispered to Evie, sitting on the bench in the common room's nook. "He ignores me, Evie. He's acting like an arse. Every time I try and talk to him, he disappears."

Evie bit her lower lip. "I don't know, Lily… He's acting like a prick. You've got to grab him and talk to him."

"But why so suddenly?!" hissed Lily, grabbing the roots of her hair.

"I don't know. Maybe you expected too much and he was just that kind of person…" Evie said in a soft tone, trying to sound gentle and not hurt her feelings.

"Maybe…" She whispered.

"Talk to him."

"I know," sighed Lily. They all went downstairs for dinner on Monday night. And luckily, they just happened to run into Smith. "Smith!"

Smith turned around and cringed. He told the guys that he'd be down there in a second. "Hey," he said in a nonchalant tone.

Evie glared at him, but said nothing. She just walked away. "I'll see you at dinner, Lily."

"What's up?" asked Smith.

"You've been avoiding," Lily said as if it were obvious.

"I'm sorry about that," Smith said in a somewhat indifferent tone. "I've been thinking that we've been going… fast?"

"Fast?" Lily repeated, placing her hand on her hips.

"Yes, fast," Smith repeated. He took a deep breath and sighed, "Mind if we slow this down?"

Lily didn't know what that exactly meant? How was she supposed to go slow if they didn't even talk… He was also the one who dragged her into the alley and began snogging her-

"Oi, Smith! I got that money for that bet on the Evans make-out oh shit…" It was Mundungus Fletched, running down the stairs.

Lily turned to Smith and gritted through her teeth, "Evans make-out? Bet?"

Smith bit his lower lip and said, "Look – I- I'm sorry, Evans."

"You made a bet, didn't you?" Lily asked in a horrified tone. "You made a bet that you could get me to snog you on that date!"

"I'm _so _sorry, Evans," whispered Smith – he kind of looked sad, but it wasn't enough to make Lily become un-mad. "It was a bet and I am sorry. I… I don't know what to say. I shouldn't have done it. You deserve better."

"You deserve better?" She repeated incredulously. Lily frowned and said in an icy tone, "You're fucking asshole." She turned around and stomped back up the stairs.

"Well fucking done, Mundungus," hissed Smith lowly. He must've assumed that Lily was out of hearing range when he said, "Now, I'm definitely not going to win that sex-bet."

Lily clenched her fists and frowned. She glared, "No, you won't." She turned around back and began running up the stairs, wiping her eyes of tears.

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Poor Lily :( But just wait, Lily. Prince Charming is coming.


	22. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

_Here's another chapter! Please Review and Enjoy you guys! Means a lot to me :D_

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_April 4__th__, 1977 – Grand Hall: 06:59pm_

"This is honestly worrying me," murmured Evie, tapping her fingers impatiently. She looked around all over the Grand Hall. "Bloody hell, where is Lily?"

"You… worry… too… much!" Sirius said in between separate bites Yorkshire pudding.

James frowned at his friend. He was looking around the room worriedly too, in search of Lily. She was no where to be found and it was bothering him to no ends. If Lily had to be somewhere, she would always tell them. This… this was annoying.

"No, Evie is right," said Remus. "Lily always attends meals – this is unlike her."

"Does she have duty tonight?" asked James in a concerned voice.

Remus shook his head. "Nah, she's free tonight," Remus revealed as they got up and headed out.

Evie pushed Sirius in the side and groaned, "Do you ever stop eating?!"

"I'm a growing boy," smiled Sirius as he rested an elbow on her shoulder. She shrugged it off and glared at him.

"Pompous arse," she grumbled with a small smirk.

They went back up to the Gryffindor common room and were surprised to see that Lily wasn't there or in the girls dorm. She wouldn't be in the Library (closed) or any other place for that matter.

"This is aggravating," hissed Evie, crossing her arms as she plopped down on the couch. "I'm going to hex her when she comes back… whenever she does."

James sighed as he looked up at the time. It was about seven-thirty and well, Lily… where would she be? What did Smith do to her? When did he get to kick him in the face because Lily would've never… disappear just for anyone? Annoying prick…

A smoke… a smoke would clear his head. God, this was becoming a proper habit of his. Whatever.

"I'll be back," said James as he grabbed Sirius' extra lighter. He walked out and headed up to the Astronomy Tower. He walked through the seventh floor corridor. There, he saw Smith talking with some Ravenclaw students. Not knowing why, he desperately wanted to punch him in the face, but he resisted the temptation.

Once James got up to the Astronomy Tower, he lit a cigarette immediately and let out a long breath. He felt a rush of relief flow through his body. It was so quiet up here, maybe he could actually find out where Lily was.

Somewhere in the distance, interrupting his quiet, James heard a minor sob. He walked through the circular tower to find Lily Evans, sitting down with her legs curled up to her chest. She was crying.

"Lily…"

Lily looked over her shoulder and saw James. "Oh no…" she whispered as she wiped her hands over her eyes. "Wh-what're you doing here, James?" Lily asked, trying to push her tears down.

"Looking for you," said James as he sat next to her. He saw that her eyes were red from crying, and her face was a bit puffy. "What's wrong?"

"I… I feel so stupid," said Lily, looking at her hands. "I should've known that he just wanted to snog me for a fucking bet-"

"Wait, what?" James asked, not believing what he had just heard.

Lily let out a long breath. "Smith made a bet with Mundungus Fletcher and some other Ravenclaw boys that he could get me to make out with him during that date on Saturday. There was also another bet about getting in my pants, but clearly he's not winning that one."

James' eyes widened and clenched his fist. Next time, he saw Smith he'd absolutely punch him in the face. "I'm sorry to hear that-"

"And I'm not even mad that it happened – no wait I am, but I'm even angrier that I let him. I was so unbelievably stupid to let him do that. I've been so good at keeping people at bay enough to not get hurt. I'm so stupid! Ugh!"

"No, Lily," said James. "Smith fucked you over – we all thought he was decent. I didn't think he had it in him to do that. You deserve so much more."

Lily looked up at him and murmured, "Yeah, but it just sucks, you know?"

James nodded, "Yeah, I get it."

Lily scooted closer to James and rested her head on his shoulder. "Do you mind?" She asked softly, not moving though.

"Not at all," said James as he put an arm around her shoulders. He slowly began to rub her shoulder and she leaned closer into him.

"I hate people," muttered Lily, wiping some tears from her eyes.

"Yeah," said James as he turned to her. He placed a kiss on the top of her head and muttered against her hair, "I know what you mean."

They went back later. Evie nearly beat Lily down to a pulp, but James gave her a look to wait. Lily later explained to her what Smith had done, and had sworn to kick him in the balls the next time she laid eyes on him.

Before they all went up to their dorms, Lily turned to see James walking up the stairs behind his friends. She let Evie walk into the girls' dorm as she turned around to see James.

Lily ran after him and wrapped her arms around his waist. He froze for a moment and turned over his shoulder, trying to see, but Lily hid her face into his back. "Thanks, Potter, for listening," smiled Lily, saying it in a very soft voice. She pulled back and ran into the girls' dorm.

"No problem, Evans," smiled James.

April continued on very calmly, much to everyone's liking. Whenever Smith walked by, Lily would immediately turn her head to talk to someone else. She ignored him to the point where Smith wasn't sure if he was alive or not sometimes when he wasn't talking to anyone. Evie would glare the living daylights out of the poor boy, while James almost grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and shove him to the floor face first (luckily, Lily was there to stop him before doing so).

But nothing major happened, and everyone liked it that way.

Evie liked it most of all. Too much had happened to her thus far in the year. She preferred the peace and quiet. So one day during the last week of April, Evie was studying outside in the courtyard on one of the benches. She was trying desperately hard to memorize the facts of the theory behind resisting the Imperius Curse.

James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were sitting with her – also trying to study, well not exactly. _Remus _was studying with her, while the others… not so much. James was playing with his Snitch as Sirius was doodling away in his notebook (trying to pretend like he was studying so when Evie smacked him upside the head he would say, _I'm doing work here, _as a way to impress her); Peter watched James in amazement.

"Always with a bunch of guys. Slut."

Evie knew that the voice was referring to her, so she didn't look up. She knew the voice was Lucinda Talkalot's and honestly, she didn't have the patience right now to deal with her. "Go away, Talkalot."

Sirius was about to get up and confront her, but Evie pushed him down and gave him a look.

"I wonder why you need this much attention from guys, Williams," hissed Talkalot. She was with her gang of course, backing her up as always.

Evie just rolled her eyes.

"Maybe it's because her father wasn't there enough."

Evie froze. Her quil dropped out of her hand almost and landed on her notebook.

James stood up and said, "Ok, you're taking it too far, Talkalot-"

"And she needs Potter to fight for her," sniggered Talkalot, "How pathetic. Where is your big brother now or your hot-shot father, Williams? Oh that's right, dead-"

"DON'T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT MY FATHER AND BROTHER, YOU BITCH!"

Before any of the Marauders could stop her, Evie had lunged for Lucinda's neck. Her wand was long forgotten as Evie took Lucinda's neck in one and the other slapped her across the face.

"Evie!" shouted Sirius as he and the Marauders ran after her. Sirius grabbed her by the waist to stop punching her and pulled her back, though she was still clawing.

Lucinda was going to be fine – there was no mark or anything. It was probably the shock that freaked her out the most, but of course, Lucinda Talkalot had to make a scene.

Some Slytherin guys came over and shouted in an accusatory tone, "The fuck did you do, Williams?"

"She _hit _me!" screamed Lucinda, clenching the place where Evie had smacked her.

"I finally put the bitch in her place," Evie glared, shoving Sirius off of her. She moved closer to Lucinda and said in an icy tone, "You think because your father is rich and of pureblood that you get to treat everyone else like shit."

"I do not!"

"Yes, you do! You act like a child and your bloody father will clean up your messes-"

"AT LEAST I HAVE A FATHER!"

Evie smacked her again, but didn't stop there.

"Hey! Williams!" It was Greg Parkinson who grabbed her by the hair and hit her in the face.

Before Sirius got a chance, James punched Parkinson in the face. It was a solid hit before it became an all-out brawl between the Marauders and the Slytherin students. Talkalot and the girls skittered away as Evie continued to fight the Slytherin boys (it was quite impressive). Outsiders were watching and shouting for them to keep fighting.

"ENOUGH!"

It was McGonagall's voice and in that moment everything stopped, just like that. McGonagall looked beyond angry; enraged was probably the better word to describe her being. Her chest was heaving, her hands were clenched into tight fists, and her eyes were narrowed angrily at all the students.

"Who started it?!" McGonagall shouted.

No one said anything. I suppose everyone had enough respect for one another not to throw anyone into the wrath of McGonagall.

"I asked a question!" she shouted once more.

Lily, who was going to join them for their study session was late because she promised Nina Hwang to help her with some work, rushed downstairs into the Courtyard to see a big bloody mess.

"Pettigrew?!" McGonagall asked in a lethal voice.

"Um… Professor, well-"

"What happened?" Lily asked fifth year Ravenclaw, Marcus Shift.

"Williams, Potter, and the rest of them got into a fight with the Ravenclaws. It was bloody brilliant – Williams even fought a seventh year, well she started it actually, and slapped Talkalot right across the face."

"Oh Evie… James…" sighed Lily, walking closer to the scene.

"I am waiting, Mr. Pettigrew!" shouted McGonagall.

"It was me!" shouted both James and Evie. Once they said it, they both glared at one another.

"All right, with me you two," sighed McGonagall, motioning for both of them to follow her. They walked together behind McGonagall.

Lily ran up to Sirius and asked, "But didn't Evie start it?"

"Yeah," sighed Sirius, rubbing his bruised knuckles. "But James has the sense of masculine morality and this sense of trust for Evie."

"But it was Evie who threw the punch, right? And Evie always takes the blame when she's wrong or at fault-"

"James always takes the blame, especially for Evie since they've been friends this long," revealed Sirius, now cracking his knuckles, "He'd do it for you in a second too. Bloody hell, my knuckles hurt…"

Lily couldn't help, but think that was sweet of him to take the blame for Evie. But he's always held out for Evie. He'd always make sure she's all right, stand up for her, and even be sweet to her without trying to get in her pants… maybe he liked her?

"Sirius?" Lily asked as they began to pick up their belongings; she also picked up Evie's.

"Yeah?" James asked, picking up James' stuff.

"Do you know if James had feelings… for Evie?"

Sirius shook his head and laughed lightly, "Nah. He… has this respect for Evie because they grew up together. You know how Crenshaw cares for Evie, it's the same way James cares for Evie I suppose. Think about it like this: Every guy has a girl that's a platonic relationship with - no attraction, just friendship. Evie is James' 'guy's girl.' That's how we look at you."

"So, I am a guy's girl?" asked Lily, tilting her head, a bit confused.

"Yeah - our guys' girl along with Evie," Remus revealed.

"Oh..." Lily said, nodding in agreement - sort of understanding. "Interesting... Evie is James' guys' girl? And what am I? Chop Liver?"

Sirius gave a very devilish grin. He then leaned in closer to her and asked, "Are you jealous, Lily?"

Lily's eyes widened and must've turned a bright pink because she felt her face suddenly heat up. "No! You must be mad! Absolutely bonkers, Sirius! What the hell?! Of course not!"

Sirius put up his hands defensively and said, "Whoa, Easy girl. Just asking. Big reaction for a simple question. But what do you expect, Lily. James wanted to get in your parents for a long while - hard to see you as a platonic friend. Unless you count Remus too- "

"Remus!" Lily shouted, somewhat horrified and amused.

"Sirius likes to shock people," Remus said coldly, glaring at Sirius. "He doesn't know what he's saying-"

Lily put her hands on her hips and teased, "What? Am I unattractive, Remus?"

Remus blushed, "No! No! That's not it at all. You're lovely - but you know, that's - No, I mean, god... let me kill you, Padfoot."

Lily and the Marauders began to laugh, still worrying about their two friends in the back of their heads.

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Reviews? Cool thanks babes!


	23. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

_And here is another chapter guys! Please **Review** and Enjoy!_

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_April 21, 1977 – Transfiguration Classroom: 08:13pm_

"I am very disappointed in you two."

McGonagall had been saying this for the last fifteen minutes straight. She was disappointed - James got it. How many times did she need to say it to them? Also, the weeks' worth of detention was pretty evident that McGongall was _very _disappointed.

"Parkinson and the Slytherin lot are in the hospital wing, getting fixed up. Don't worry they'll get their fair share of punishment from Slughorn, but the fact that my own two students would start this amount of trouble-"

"Talkalot said some pretty messed up things, Professor," grumbled James, dropping his hands from his face.

Evie punched him in the arm and gave him a look. "Shut up!" She growled and then looked at McGonagall. "Sorry."

"You can't beat up everyone who says something crude or upsetting to you, Williams," sighed McGonagall, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"James likes being hit by girls," mumbled Evie, smirking to herself. "A bit of fetish actually."

James punched her in the arm and glared, "Shut up!"

"Hey! You know in the real world you can't hit a girl - it's a sign of disrespect and crudeness!" James could easily tell that Evie didn't mean a word of that. She had often told him that she believed the unpopular theory, _Gender doesn't matter like that. If anyone hits me, I'm going to hit them back. Even if I was a guy, I'd feel the same way. Not hitting a girl because she is one is more disrespectful in my opinion._

"Oh please, since when did you start acting like a girl-"

"You two must stop acting like children!" McGongall shouted, slamming her hand on the desk that they were sharing. They both jumped in response. McGongall took a deep breath to calm herself before saying, "Now these papers must be filed." She set them on a desk. "First years, second years, third years, and so on. You are to stay here until nine-thirty. So, either way, you aren't leaving. So do a good job."

It was a large stack of paper that made both James and Evie groan as McGonagall left the room.

It went by slowly. They did it in a hurried fashion, but did a good job. They talked a little while doing it.

"Evie?"

"What?" James looked at her with a piercing gaze that made Evie frown. "The fuck you looking at me for like that? Do I have something on my face?"

"Be honest with me," said James, throwing a piece of paper in the first year stack. "And right here," pointing to some dirt on her jaw.

"Always am," Evie said with a nod as she wiped her jaw, dried blood. She grimaced at it.

"If we weren't as close as we are," said James in a slow voice, "would you ever want to fuck me?"

Evie stopped and looked at him. "Pardon?" Evie asked with raised eyebrow, a bit in shock from the question.

"You heard me," James said shortly.

Evie shrugged, "You're a good-looking bloke, James, but I guess if I didn't know you as well as do or as long, then sure... Why?"

"Why do you think Lily has rejected me for so long?"

Evie stopped and then looked at him softly. "James… don't ask yourself that."

"Come on, Eve," James said in a long voice, turning to her. "For almost two years, she rejected me and rejected me - time after time. Why? Am I that awful?"

"No, you're not," Evie said reassuringly. She then sighed and closed her eyes, "Honestly, you try too hard in front of her, James."

James sat back and frowned, "I do not-"

"James, you do," said Evie, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You still like her, don't you?"

"No-"

"Don't lie to me," Evie said in a warning tone, but with a smile. "You say that you've gotten over her, but keep up the tradition of trying to get her as a joke. But it's real isn't it? You still like her."

James sighed. "Whatever…"

"Don't 'whatever' it. If you like her, stop trying so hard to be this someone else – the proud and showoff Potter. Stop trying to impress her. Stop trying to _play _her, James; she's not one of your _girls _on the side, is she?"

"So you want me to change for Lily Evans? I mess around that's who I am-"

Evie shook her head, "No. You don't need to change, James. You're fine the way you are, really. You just don't share who you really are with her. The way you are with just the Marauders and me isn't the exact same way you are with her sometimes." She shrugged and threw another piece of paper into a pile. "So, don't change, but grow up." She got up and smiled, "And not to get with Lily even, but for your own sake. You're seventeen now, Babe. It's time for us to move on a bit from school pranks, especially in the world we are currently living in, don't you think?"

Evie began walking away. James noticed that it was nine-thirty and looked back at her. "You know, you're a romantic underneath that bullshit cover you play."

"Cover?" Evie asked, turning around to raise an eyebrow.

"Come on, _Evelyn_," smirked James, "You like pretending to be the cool girl, by not caring and smoking your cigarettes. But you actually can do the romantic thing pretty well. What made you become so cold? You weren't always like this. Looking back at it, you were a pretty adorable kid."

In a voice that clearly hid something, Evie went on, "I don't know what you're talking about James... See you in the common room." She left the room, leaving James behind.

"That chick…" James said while shaking his head. He slid on his robes and walked out. He slowly walked out of the room as well and began walking up the stairs. He made it up the seventh floor and heard sobbing.

James looked toward the tower towards the Owlery. Though it was past curfew, he didn't really give a damn. He walked over and outside in the rain.

The sobbing came from Lily.

"Lily…" He had to stop seeing her like this.

Unlike the last time Lily was sobbing, she didn't try and stop the tears. She couldn't stop it even if she tried.

"J-james," Lily cried.

"Lily," James said in a worried tone, sitting beside her. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and hugged her tightly. "What's wrong?"

Lily hid into his chest and pressed her hands against James' chest, crying into the back of her palms. James had never seen cry like this before. He had never seen anyone cry like this before. Most of the girls at Hogwarts cried over stupid stuff – boys, grades, shouting teachers, or whatever. Maybe a few tears, but nothing like this. Melanie never cried much about anything. And Evie: only once in the twelve years of being friends with her, he had only seen her cry once when her father and brother died.

However, this seemed much worse.

"Lily, what's wrong?" whispered James.

"S-she's… she's dead!" Lily wailed.

"Who's – oh no," whispered James, realizing that there was only one _she _that could've affected Lily like this. Her mother. Her ill mother. The day that Lily had been dreading for the last year or so had finally come. It wasn't fair.

But God did bad things to people to test their will or just so that pure people can experience pain once in their life. It was like that sometimes.

Naturally James hugged her tighter and began rubbing her back.

Lily was crying for what seemed like hours, and James stayed and held her. The physical contact comforted her to an extent that her sobs soon died down and became silent.

"We should tell Professor Dumbledore," revealed James.

"I-I can't move," Lily sighed. She murmured, "Everything hurts."

James slid one hand around her back and then another around her the back of her legs. He was about to pick her up when Dumbledore appeared.

"Miss Evans, Mr. Potter," said Dumbledore in a solemn tone.

Lily immediately began to wipe her tears away, but that didn't do much. She was still crying, and tears kept flowing down her cheek.

"Miss Evans, why don't you come with me? Shall I send you home?" asked Dumbledore in a very kind tone.

Lily nodded as she got up with the help of James. James began walking with them, but Dumbledore passed. "Mr. Potter, thank you for the concern, but I think it is best if you get back to the Common Room. It is past curfew – I've got Miss Evans."

James was about to protest, but Lily interrupted, "I'll talk you later, James. Please, don't tell anyone."

"Of course not," whispered James.

"Thank you, Potter," said Lily in a raw and genuine tone before walking off with Dumbledore.

James watched them go off before they turned the corner. And all he could think about the rest of the night was how much he hated seeing Lily cry.

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_It had to happen at some point, Guys. I'm sorry :( Poor Lily._


	24. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

Ok, Semi-late update, Sorry babes. I'll try to be better about it next time :p had a mini-writer's block. But I'm back. The Reviews are wonderful, please keep them up! They mean so much!

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_April 23__rd__, 1977 – Grand Hall: 09:45am_

James didn't tell Evie and the Marauders about the death of Lily's mother, Dumbledore did. He took them all on Friday morning into his office and told them the news. All of Friday had been a tad big awkward – they didn't know what to say or do about anything.

So Saturday morning was just the same. They ate breakfast quietly and no one knew why. Mary MacDonald, Nina Hwang, and even Tyler Kane were beyond confused. They were all just sitting in one of the nooks of the Hogwarts building.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Williams, Mr. Black, Mr. Lupin, Mr. Pettigrew."

The five students looked up to see Dumbledore standing in front of them. He had his hands resting on his stomach and said, "Would you please follow me unless if you are not finished with your morning meals?"

The five students looked back down at their plates. None of them had really eaten anything, just moved their food around. They immediately got up and followed Dumbledore out of the room.

"The Evans' family is having a funeral for Natalie Evans today at eleven o'clock," revealed Dumbledore as they stopped by the stairs. He then looked at his students as they followed. "You five have been invited to join them."

James stopped in shock along with the rest.

"Is… is that true?" asked Evie in disbelief.

"Yes," said Dumbledore with a distinct nod. "I'd like you all to go and support your friend in her time of need. I assume you all have proper attire?"

"Do you keep a funeral attire?" James asked, not realizing how mean he had sounded when he asked that question.

"No, but I do assume you have clothing that is black and appropriate to wear at such an occasion out of respect?" He asked the question in a very kind tone, one that made James feel bad for saying his comment so rudely.

The students nodded.

"Well," said Dumbledore, in a gentle tone, "Please meet me by my office at 11:45. We will be taking the floo network."

The students didn't talk as they took their showers, got dressed, and met by Dumbledore's office at approximately 11:45.

Evie was the first one there. She wore a black ensemble that covered her up in a respectful manner as the boys wore dark clean suits. They walked up to Dumbledore's office.

He was sitting at his desk, writing something that looked relatively important. He looked up and said, "Ah. Here you are. All right, come with me." Dumbledore led the five students to the back of his office. "My friend who lives in Cokeworth is letting us use his house for Floo Transportation. He leaves just a five minute walk east of the cemetery. She'll show you. Please send my condolonces to Miss Evans."

"Of course," replied Evie as she went first. She shouted out the name of the Dumbledore's friend's home, followed by Sirius, Remus, and Peter.

But right before James went, Dumbledore stopped him. "I know what Miss Evans means to you, Mr. Potter-"

"Sir, I've gotten over Evans," James interrupted. He had never lied to that man before, but right then and there, he did.

Dumbledore simply nodded – it was clear that he didn't believe a word that had just come out of James' mouth, but he decided to give James the satisfaction. "Well, either way, Miss Evans is a strong young woman as you know. But, no matter how strong she is or claims to be, losing a parent or guardian is very… very difficult."

James nodded, "I know…"

Dumbledore put a light hand on his shoulder. "So, I think it'll be best if you just stay by Miss Evans. She could use someone just to be by her side." He then motioned him off to the chimney.

James looked at Dumbledore questioningly before he shouted the name of the house. His body sucked in tight as he swirled around, letting the flames engulf him as he arrived into a small living room.

There was a large couch on the side with a dishelved bookcase and a

In front of the table stood the Marauders and Evie along with a very young woman with lovely long blond hair and grayish short of eyes. She was of small stature and had a petite frame.

"Hello, you must be James," the woman said, putting out her hand for him to shake. "Marilyn McKinnon."

"Oh – you're Mary's older sister?" asked James.

Marilyn nodded, "Yes – I already graduated when you entered probably. I don't live with her though – this is my personal home." She then gave a small shrug, meaning that it wasn't much, but it would do.

"It's a pleasure to meet all of you, not under these circumstances of course, but you know." She showed them all to the door and pointed down the road, "It's literally a few blocks down and you can't miss it. I'm sorry I can't join you, but I must do some work for Dumbledore. At five o'clock, I'll set up the Floo for you all to return to Hogwarts? Is that all right?"

The students nodded and thanked Marilyn for her hospitality.

"She was kind of hot," muttered Sirius as they walked away.

Evie rolled her eyes and smacked him upside the head. "You're insatiable," she growled at him.

"What?!" Sirius asked, rubbing the back of his head, "A man can't commend a girl for looking good?"

"No, but not with every girl within your vision," hissed Evie.

"Oh look, don't be such a hag-"

"Can you two stop fighting like an old married couple?" James asked in a low, but serious tone. The serious tone startled all of the Marauders and Evie a bit. He then looked to them as he slid his glasses off and rubbed them against his jacket to kill them. "For Lily?"

They nodded as they walked into the cemetery to find a plethora of people standing beside the grave.

They all stood by the grave of Natalie Evans with flowers were placed by her grave. Everyone looked heartbroken and distraught by the news that the lovely, funny, and sarcastic Natalie Evans was now gone.

"Ah… Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, Mr. Lupin, Mr. Pettigrew I assume, and Miss Williams," said Mr. Evans as he appeared behind them. He looked tired, drained, and most of all lifeless. His voice was monotone in comparison to his lively one. "Thank you for joining us today."

"It is our pleasure," Sirius said kindly, yet softly.

"Natalie would've been very happy to know that Lily's best friends were here to support her."

"Of course," Remus added with a polite nod. "Lily would've done the same for us, I imagine."

"Yes," said Mr. Evans. He looked around and muttered, "Now where did she go – oh, Lily, your friends are here."

A bright splash of red hair swiveled around to show the face of Lily Evans. She too looked tired like her father. It looked like she hadn't slept in days; her eyes were red from what looked like crying.

She came over to them and smiled weakly, "Thank you for coming."

"Tahnk you for inviting us," Remus said politely, giving her a small and gentle hug.

"Your mother was a lovely woman," revealed Sirius, hugging her as well.

"I am sorry that I never got to meet her," added Peter. "She must've been lovely to raise you."

Lily smirked and chuckled lowly. "How long have you been working on that one, Peter?" Lily teased softly. The mild tease was comforting to James – there was still a little life in Lily Evans.

"A while," laughed Evie, hugging her best friend. "How are you, Lily?" She asked after a moment, worried for her friend.

"I'm fine," shrugged Lily, smiling weakly. "We're actually on our way back to the house now. Why don't we start moving?"

Everyone began to walk back to Lily's house. It amazed James how… composed Lily was. She was calm and understanding. No, she wasn't her usual bubbly self, but she still managed to hold everything together. It was commendable actually.

The day went by smoothly. People spoke about Natalie Evans: Mr. Evans, Petunia Evans, Lily, and a few other people.

"Anyone else?"

Before he knew it, James raised his hand.

Lily gave him a confused look to match James' own. He stood up awkwardly and cleared his throat. He caught Lily's confused, but admiring and kind expression across her face.

"Um… I can't say that I know Mrs. Evans as well as most of the people in this room, but I know for a fact that she was a lovely woman and mother. Her younger daughter, Lily, is a very good friend of mine, who is very intelligent, understanding, and caring. To have become such a good person, I would imagine her mother would be the same. She gave me advice and seemed like a truly marvelous woman."

Lily smiled at him and began clapping along with the rest of the room.

The people resumed talking and when James went up to grab some scotch. He took the glass and poured a little when Lily came up beside him.

"Thank you, James," said Lily in a soft tone, concocting her own drink. She smiled up at him. "It was lovely what you said about my mother."

"It was all the truth, Lily," revealed James, taking a sip of his drink. A little too strong for his liking, but still tasty nonetheless.

Lily smiled kindly at him, almost like she was merely indulging him like she didn't believe him. She motioned for them to go outside. It was a cloudy day with a dash of the blue sky. They just stood outside.

James looked down at Lily who took a sip of her drink. It looked like pure vodka and nothing to push the utterly strong taste away. She took a sip like it was water.

"Have you cried yet?" asked James.

"Yes," Lily nodded, still looking out, "With you."

James frowned a bit. "Is that it, Lily?"

Lily nodded.

"You can't hold it in, Lily. The more you hold it in now, the worse it will be later," said James, putting a careful hand on her shoulder. "It's best to get everything out now-"

"Evie only cried once when she lost both her brother and her father," murmured Lily. "It wouldn't be fair if I did with my mother who I knew was going to... pass away. She's so strong and my best friend. It would be weak."

"I told you this before," James said, moving her body to face him. They moved to sit on the bench. "I'll tell you something about Evie," he added, running a hand through his hair.

He took a deep breath and began, "You _aren't _Evie, Lily. Evie… she's an interesting character with positive qualities: intelligent, cool, pretty, and probably one of the most understanding people I've ever met. But she's not perfect. She has negatives as well, and she'd probably be the first person to tell them to you: harsh, cold, overly nonchalant, and a bit of bitch at times." He groaned into his hand and then said, "This is such a cliché, but Lily, you are fine… no more than, fine… _perfect _just the way you are. I couldn't imagine you another way.

"It's also not a bad quality or a weak quality for you to show emotions, Lily. It's quite brave actually, to let people see what're you feeling. Evie… she doesn't have that quality. She shuts people out and she's damn good at it. And it's not downing Evie, but Lily, it's a commendable quality to be open, to show your true self. You're strong, Lily."

Lily blinked a few times before resting her head on James' shoulder. "How… how long did that take for you to come up with?"

James snorted and said, "I'm smoother than Peter – like hell I am telling you."

She laughed a little before tears began accumulating. She hid her face in James' arm and began to cry. "I'm – I'm going to miss her so much."

James turned around and wrapped an arm around her. "I know, Lily. I know."

Lily cried for a while before she wiped her tears away. She let out a deep shuddering breath. She turned to him and laughed lightly, "Why did I think you were such a prick before sixth year?"

"Because I was," smiled James, "Still am."

"Right," laughed Lily, "I forgot."

James looked at her and wiped a tear from her cheek. Her skin was soft and sweet. Lily looked up and their eyes connected for a moment. It was a tender moment between those two-

"James- oh so sorry!"

It was Peter before he attempted to scurry away, but he quickly ran into Evie, Sirius, and Remus.

"Sorry, Lily," Remus apologized. "We've got to run to get back to Hogwarts by Floo."

Lily brushed herself off and nodded, "Oh yes, of course." She ran over to give quick hugs to her friends and said her good-byes and thank you's. She walked them all to the door and thanked them once more for coming. As they walked down to the street, Lily pulled James back and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"You've caught me at some pretty fucking awful moments," muttered Lily almost like she was apologizing. "If you need to talk to someone about anything, just know that I'm your girl."

James' heartbeat quickened as he hugged her too. "Thanks, Lil. I appreciate it. See you back at Hogwarts," he added as he pulled back.

"Ok," Lily smiled cautiously, as if it were wrong to smile. She waved to him and said, "See you then."

James caught up to his friend and for that five minute walk, for dinner back at Hogwarts, and for the whole night, all James could think about those six words Lily said to him earlier:

_Just know that I'm your girl._

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Reviews? Taanks!


	25. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

I'm currently preparing for a dance show, so things are really busy for me. I'm sorry about the later updates. BUT...

PLEASE REVIEW + ENJOY!

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_June 1st, 1977 – Courtyard: 09:18pm_

Lily had come back from her home later the next day. She didn't cry again, which James worried about – he still thought that she was holding too much in. She was back to her normal bright self – smiling, doing work, and being miss goody-too shoes herself.

So the months passed. The gang celebrated Evie's birthday on the ninth of may and then began to study for their final exams. It was a difficult time for sixth years; no jokes or pranks from the Marauders either. They wanted to do well too.

Lily was studying extra hard, no that she didn't study hard to begin with, but this girl was on another level. Even during her prefect duty hours, she would manage to study for something or other.

Currently she was studying for her History of Magic class. It was about the magical usage of enslaving inferi. It was quite awful to be honest – it wasn't something she really wanted to read as she roamed around the eerie first night of June. At midnight, she would be able to go back to bed and walk up early for breakfast, take this stupid exam, and then begin studying for another.

Lily heard a creak that made her head snap up. She slipped her notebook into her robes and pulled out her wand.

"_Lumos," _Lily breathed. The tip of her wand lit softly as she began looking around. She heard the creaking again and followed it closely. The creaking and now squeaking now lead outside.

_Already? _Lily thought irritably. _They should be studying_.

Lily assumed it was just some students, trying to be sneaky and drink around the school grounds. She desperately hoped it wasn't any Gryffindor students – then she'd have to take points.

The squeaking made its way down towards the Whomping Willow, and Lily remained quiet and far enough behind it.

The squeaking got further away and towards three shadowy figures – they looked boys. And all of a sudden, the squeaking noise was gone. And from the ground a smaller, rounder, and fuller young male figured appeared. Two of the three earlier men shouting incomprehensible things to the smaller man.

"Hey!" Lily shouted. "You four!" She pointed her wand towards them and immediately realized that it was an impatient James Potter, an irritated Sirius Black, an ill-looking Remus Lupin, and an apologetic Peter Pettigrew.

"Bloody hell," groaned Sirius, rubbing a hand over his face.

"What're you four doing out?" Lily asked shortly, putting her hands on her hips. She then pointed to Remus, "Remus! You're a prefect – at least, try to listen to the rules."

Remus, who looked tired, weak, and drained, nodded quickly. "Yes, Lily, I understand."

Lily could tell that Remus was having some difficulty – he looked very ill. She didn't want to seem like a bitch and take points, but if someone had told her what this was, she would be in so much trouble. "So, come on please, let's just go back to the common room-"

"Lily, please just go," James said quickly and impatiently, pointing back towards the castle. There was a rough and harsh edge in her tone that Lily did not appreciate.

Glaring at him, Lily stayed there. "I can't leave you four here… marauder-ing and doing Merlin knows what! Remus, no offense, looks awful. He needs to go to bed and see Madam Pomfrey! _Come on!_"

"I'm _going _to hex her, James," hissed Sirius.

"Don't make me take points, Black," Lily countered back.

"She listens to you, James," groaned Sirius as if Lily had just not threatened him, pushing James' shoulder. He pointed to her and said, "Do something about her!"

James sighed and motioned towards the castle once more. "Please, Lily. Please, just go."

"Yeah, going to get McGonagall!" hissed Lily as she turned around and began walking away.

"Goddamn shit!" Lily heard Sirius shout angrily and quickly.

_That's what he gets, _Lily thought grudgingly, although she was not intending to tell McGonagall.

"James, now! It's almost time!"

James ran over to Lily and said, "Lily, please. I'm asking you to just keep walking. Please, I'll walk with you if that makes you feel better, but as a friend, I am asking you to just not tell anyone."

Lily kept stomping away and said, "Sirius is being rude – you're doing something that's not allowed! I'm telling McGonagall."

James stopped Lily and said, "Ok – what'd you want?"

"I want you four to come with me back upstairs, so I don't have to write you up!" hissed Lily.

"No, please! You can't," James said.

Lily groaned, "You're making this so bloody difficult!" She then turned to Remus, Sirius, and Peter who were disappearing, talking in a hushed voice. She crossed his arms and said, "James, Remus doesn't look well. At least let me talk him to the Hospital Wing." Without warning, Lily began walking back, and James didn't even noticed at first. "Oi, Remus! Let me take you to the hospital wing…"

"No, Lily!" shouted James, trying to catch up to her.

Sirius tried to push the weak Remus towards the Whomping Willow, which made no sense to her. "Crap, go Remus-!"

But something happened, out of the blue, Remus began to change. He grew larger, furrier, and much more animalistic. He became a beast. He became a wolf.

A werewolf.

He didn't look lethal though or as her textbooks have described. He looked in pain and upset… with himself.

Without knowing what she was doing, Lily began to walk closer to it. She walked slowly and looked up. In that moment, she saw the similar sky blue eyes of Remus Lupin…

"Remus...?" Lily breathed softly.

The wolf sniffed the air near Lily – they weren't quite close enough for him to actually sniff her, but still quite close.

There was a glint in his eyes that changed.

The werewolf began running at her. Her instincts told her to run, run for her life and don't look back. But, no, this was Remus. Her fellow Gryffindor, her partner prefect, and her dear friend. He would never hurt her-

"LILY!"

Lily turned around to see James motioning for her to duck. Following his instructions, Lily quickly bent down as instructed to as James jumped over her. She watched as he did so and she gasped when she saw James change as well.

It was a much smoother transition than Remus turning into a wolf – it was graceful and much more natural. But it wasn't into a wolf like she had expected.

James Potter became a stag.

"Oh my god…" Lily breathed as she watched James… the stag throw a hit at the wolf, hitting him in the eye. James was fighting Remus?

"James!" Lily shouted as she got up, not realizing that she was actually running toward them, wanting them to stop.

"No, Lily, back off," Sirius shouted as he grabbed her and ran off much further. He pulled her, much against her will, towards the forest. Once they reached the forest, Sirius let her go.

"Why are we here?!" Lily shouted, pointing back to them. "We should be helping; they're going to kill each other!"

"No, no," said Sirius, waving that idea off with a simple hand motion. "James is using himself as Remus' punching bag – he's done it before and so have I." He then looked up at Lily, clearly confused and then furrowed his eyebrows. "Did you just completely ignore the fact that Remus turned into a large wolf and James turned into a motherfucking stag?"

"Well – either way it's still them right?" asked Lily. "Now are you going to help them or not?!"

Sirius looked at her as if she were stupid. "You… you aren't frightened?"

"I'm just… curious," murmured Lily, looking at him softly. "Remus is a werewolf?"

Sirius nodded after a moment of hesitation.

"And James… is an animagus?"

Another nod.

"You said that you've been Remus' punching bag before…"

Sirius sighed. "Lily, you're too brilliant for your own bloody good sometimes." He looked up at her and leaned against a tree. "We figured that Remus was a werewolf in the second year and ever since then, we became close. Up until the middle of the fifth year, we've been working on figuring out to become Animagi. We keep Remus company, so that he isn't as ashamed of what he is.

"He hates himself because of his potential to kill and harm others so easily. So, James, Peter, and I worked together in becoming animagi to keep him in check and to keep him company like any other friend would do."

Lily's eyes widened out of pure shock. She then bit her lip and smiled softly, "That's very kind of you three."

Sirius chuckled lowly and sort of in disbelief. "Too kind and brilliant for your own good."

"And you transform into a…?"

Sirius took two steps back and said, "I won't hurt you, so just don't scream."

Lily nodded coolly, but couldn't contain her gasp when she saw Sirius Black effortlessly transform into a large shaggy looking black dog. He looked strong, probably strong enough to take on Remus in his werewolf state. He had black hair and eyes, just like he did normally. Also, his feet were now padded-

"Padfoot?" Lily asked softly. She then smiled brightly, "That's why you have the name Padfoot? James is Prongs because… he's a stag. Remus is Moony because… he's a werewolf." She patted Sirius' head as Sirius began to pant. "That's actually quite clever. Only obvious if you knew the secret behind it all… Oh what about Peter?"

Sirius immediately turned back into a human with Lily's hand still on his head. She quickly removed it and put it behind her back, a bit embarrassed. He quickly bent down and pulled up a rat. "Wormtail, meet Lily. Lily, meet wormtail. Fits him perfectly don't you think?"

Lily's eyes widened and asked, "That's Pettigrew-"

Peter changed back into a human and frowned, "I resent that comment, Sirius."

Sirius chuckled, "It was just a joke." He then looked at Lily and said, "I got to go and tap James out. He's had enough. Peter, go get the Whomping Willow to stop... whomping."

Peter nodded and disappeared as a rat.

Sirius put a hand on Lily's shoulder. "James will be here in literally thirty seconds. Please don't run off, Lily."

"I won't," Lily said.

Sirius smiled and changed himself back into the large dog. He ran off and let out a large bark.

This was so much information to take in. Three animagi and one werewolf… in Hogwarts? In Gryffindor? In her year? Her friends too! So, they'd sneak out every full moon to accompany Remus? That's what Severus must've been talking about. His rumor was true-

Lily looked over to the clearing and noticed a large stag walking gracefully over. It was tall – taller than a normal stag and a bit more muscular. It came to the edge of the woods and then transformed back into James Potter.

James fixed his glasses and cracked his neck. "Sorry 'bout that," said James as he rolled his shoulders, trying to get all of the kinks out. "Some transformations are worse than others, and Remus is not having it this month."

Lily looked up at him and asked softly, "Does Dumbledore even know?"

James pulled something out of his robes – the large invisibility cloak he carries almost everywhere. "Come on, let me walk you back to the castle before Remus finds you and scares you half to death." He threw it over themselves and began walking. "And of course Dumbledore knows."

"Oh?"

"Lily," James said slowly, trying to make everything very clear. "The Whomping Willow came to Hogwarts as an access point for Remus to get to the Sheirking Shack for him to transform. The Sheriking Shack isn't actually haunted. It's just Remus, transforming. Dumbledore did all of this for Remus."

"Oh, so he knows about you being Animagi?"

James gave her a small, mischievous smile.

"Bloody hell, James! It's illegal! You must be daft – if they find out you're unregistered – they just might put you in Azkaban!"

"Oh come on, Lily," groaned James. "They would never let us do this – the government would burn Dumbledore alive if we became registered. Three animagi and a werewolf roaming around the dark forest every full moon? Hell no."

Lily frowned at him and looked up at him. "Just be careful, you know?"

James smiled softly, "All right."

They reached the courtyard once more, and James lifted up the cloak for Lily to get out. The invisibility wrapped around the rest of his body, except his head. It looked like he was floating.

"Please, Lily," said James in a very raw and earnest tone. "Don't tell anyone."

"Of course," said Lily with a nod. "It's not my business really."

James smiled and motioned for her to head back to the castle. But before she did, Lily turned and put a hand on his invisible shoulder. "It's really kind what you three do for Remus… And thanks for saving me."

Lily pressed a small, chaste, and kind kiss to James' cheek. She backed up and said, "Night, James." She turned around and walked away.

"Night, Lily," James said, biting his lower lip to repress a smile. Maybe it would be a good night after all…


	26. Chapter 25

**Chapter 26**

_Sorry again - it's been a very busy and generally bad week. I'm kind of not been having it - it's been affecting my writing. I won't take it out on you guys. Hopefully my writing illustrates that lol. Please Enjoy and REVIEW._

_ASIA P._

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June 3rd, 1977 – Grand Hall: 07:45am

Lily sat busily with her history notebook in hand, trying desperately to cram everything into one session. She continued to chew her lip, instead of concentrating on her food.

"You know, Lily," Evie murmured as she took a bite of toast, "You can chew on food instead of your lip.

"But I have to study," whined Lily, pouting prettily at Evie.

"You already know all of it though," murmured Evie, not bothering to even look at the textbook.

"I'm just making sure-"

"Lily."

Lily turned around to see the Marauders standing before her. James was front and center with a worried Peter, an irritated Sirius, and a sad look Sirius. "Can we talk to you for a moment?"

"I'm studying," Lily pouted, not knowing what could be so important to stop her from passing her tests.

"Lily," James frowned.

Lily saw Remus sigh and whisper something to Sirius. He motioned them for them to go, but Lily got up instead. "All right, off we go."

The five of them walked out of the Grand Hall and over to a secluded area by the Stair Case. Lily looked at the four boys and crossed her arms. "Well?"

Remus moved forward and said, "Lily, I'm terribly sorry about what happened last night. I nearly attacked you and I feel awful. I do hope you forgive me. If you want me to remove my position as your fellow prefect I understand completely. I wouldn't want to work with a werewolf either-"

Lily stopped him and said quickly. "Oh, please! Remus, do you really think that I am _that _vain?!"

The five young men stared at Lily as she continued.

"That's the most ridiculous idea I've ever heard, Remus. You are the most qualified for the job. James and Sirius are clear trouble makers and resent the job 100 percent. And poor Peter wouldn't be able to tell one first year that he's out past his curfew. You're intelligent and perfectly adequate for the job. Just because you turn into a furry wolf every time the full moon shows itself doesn't change a thing."

Remus' eyes widened and his jaw dropped a little. "You… you aren't mad at or scared of me?"

"Why? Should I be?" asked Lily, cocking her head to the side.

"N-no, but… y-yes-"

"What about James, Sirius, and Peter?" She asked as she put her hands on her hips and gave a distinct frown. "Because I'm a girl."

"No! No! No!" shouted Remus, shaking his hands in defense. "You know that's not what I mean!"

"Oh Remus, calm down," Lily laughed, smiling kindly at him. "I know that's not what you meant." She then put a hand on his shoulder and said, "It's not a problem for me that you are a werewolf. You're still my friend aren't you?"

"Yes…"

"Then," Lily smiled as she kissed his cheek chastely, but kindly, "it's fine." She pushed past the boys and said, "Now, I've got to finish studying for this History Exam." She turned and ran back into the Hall.

"That went much more smoothly than we had planned," murmured Sirius.

"Always full of surprises," smirked James, ruffling his hair. He patted Remus' shoulder and followed Lily.

Exams came and went. Lily's hardcore studying paid off, getting O's on every subject, but History – highest grades in the year. James did extraordinarily well as well, getting the second highest scores in the year among males.

So, students began to pack away their things and get ready for the desired summer vacation. They couldn't wait actually. They moved to board the train and made their way to Kings' Cross. Students were exchanging addresses with one another, laughing with each other, and preparing for the desired summer break.

"Oh, that properly blows," grimaced Evie.

"I know," sighed Lily, letting her loll back. "I don't want to go, but she's my sister and it's her wedding."

Lily was currently with the Marauders and Evie in a compartment on the train. They were a good twenty minutes away from Kings' Cross; Lily and Remus had already done their patrol as well.

"When is it again?" asked James, reading the _Prophet_ as he spoke.

"Last week of July," groaned Lily. "I might shoot myself. Being in a house with just Petunia and my father for a month before this goddamn wedding might as well be the death of me." She let her head loll back and let out an annoyed groan.

"Rough shit, Lil," Sirus added dryly, playing a game of Exploding Snap with Remus and Peter.

"Ha. Ha." Lily said as she glared at them. She then crossed her arms and said, "I love her, but she's a bitch. I really don't know if I'm mentally prepared to spend a whole two months with her. Mum always used to keep her in line… Gah, bloody hell."

James peered over the top of his newspaper and watched a pained expression sweep over Lily's face for a brief moment.

"Whatever, fuck it," said Lily before taking a bite of piece of chocolate.

They reached Platform 9 and three-quarters shortly, and soon afterwards, the Marauders and the two girls were left on the platform, saying their goodbyes.

"We'll write each other," nodded Sirius, patting Remus and James on the back. "Correct?"

"Don't you sound nostalgic?" smirked Evie, crossing her arms.

"I can be very _sensitive_, Williams," glared Sirius.

Evie scoffed, "Oh, really? In your pants I reckon-"

"Ok ok," James said, pushing the two apart. He could feel a sense of sexual tension and he wasn't ready for it.

Mrs. Liana Pettigrew, a petite middle-age woman with sandy brown, was waving her hands frantically for her son's attention.

"That's my mum," sighed Peter, moving backwards. "I gotta go. See you over the summer."

"Bye, Peter," the gang of kids called out.

Katherine Lupin, a very pretty and young woman (probably only thirty five), had lush blond hair and stunning blue eyes. Although she was pretty, she looked tired and ill. She waved over to the group of kids.

"And that's my mum," nodded Remus. He gave a light, yet mannish, hug to his two friends and waved over to Evie and Lily. "See you soon." He pushed his cart over to his mother and gave her a warm hug.

"And I better be off," said Evie, nodding her head. "I've got to get my stuff over to the house." She kissed Lily on the cheek as a way of saying goodbye and hugged James coolly as well. She looked at Sirius and simply said, "Black."

"Williams."

"I'll see you in two days," Evie noted.

Sirius' face drew a blank. "Excuse me?" Sirius asked in a blunt tone.

"Didn't Jamsey tell you?" asked Evie as she began backing away.

"I hate you, Evie," growled James, gritting through his teeth.

"See you guys later," Evie smiled as she waved away, pushing her cart away.

"What was she talking about?" Lily asked, purely out of curiousity.

"Yes, James," Sirius said in a harsh, disturbed tone.

"My mother thinks that she's alone too much ever since her father and brother passed. So, she invited her to dinner in two days-"

"Ugh – Mrs. Potter!" growled Sirius, grabbing his hair.

"What, Sirius?"

The three students turned around to see Mrs. Audrey Potter, standing prettily, waiting for her son and his friend. She tilted her head to the side and raised an eyebrow.

"No-nothing, Mrs. Potter," sighed Sirius. "Let me help you bring the stuff over to the car."

Sirius began to push his things over to the car.

"Ah – Lily!"

Mrs. Potter ran over to hug Lily. "How're you, Darling?"

"I'm okay," revealed Lily with a kind, but lying, smile. "How about you?"

"All right as well," said Mrs. Potter. "Well, we best be off, James. Your aunt is back home and she wants to see you desperately. I'll leave you to your goodbyes." Mrs. Potter disappeared, following Sirius towards the cars.

"Oi, Lily!"

Lily and James turned around to see Petunia Evans, waiting by the family car and looking utterly irritated. She had her arms crossed in front of her and was tapping her foot impatiently.

"Fuck off," Lily muttered under her breath before shouting, "Ok, one second!" Lily turned back to James and smiled to him. "I hope that I get to see you over the summer."

"Yeah, definitely," James smiled as he leaned down to give her a friendly hug. He then put a hand on her shoulder. He was never good with words, so he continued by letting out a loud sigh. "If… if you ever need a break from the… house… or anything, my parents surely wouldn't mind if you stayed over a night or two. Just stop by when ever you need to."

Lily felt something in her chest lighten. She smiled genuinely and said, "That means a lot, James. Thank you."

James smiled back at her. This was a moment – a sweet moment that would maybe later act as a realization for the two. This was the moment when the two realized that they were just no longer friends or housemantes, but a little more. Of course they wouldn't realize it now because they don't have time-

"LILY! WE HAVE TO LEAVE!"

It was Petunia again.

Lily grimaced and sighed. "See you soon, James."

"See you, Lily."

Lily walked away and pushed her cart over to her sister. She turned a shoulder and waved to James, who was now walking the other way.

It would be a lovely summer indeed.


	27. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

I know it's a been a long time and I'm sorry, but I was busy with the end of the year things. Also, I was going through writer's block, which happens often. Sorry :( But please review - they really do help me in making sure that the story is going in the right direction.

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_July 19__th__, 1977 – 05:56pm: Evans' Residence_

"You _ruin _everything, you little… _witch!_"

Lily rolled her eyes as she flipped through her magazine. Petunia was yelling at her about something irrelevant (in Lily's mind) that had to do with Vernon.

"Oh very clever, Petunia. How original," Lily hissed, peeping over her magazine. "And will you please lower your voice. You need to stop escalating the situation so much."

"You need to stop acting like a bitch to my boyfriend… no, my fiancée! We are getting married in a week and you continue to pester him!"

Ok, Lily did enjoy… freaking out Vernon with magic. She was legal to practice magic as she pleased in front of her family, so hell, why not. But Vernon reacted so negatively and anxiously – it was quite fantastic in Lily's eyes. But he deserved it – he kept acting as if he were the man of the house when he visited. Petunia fed into it, especially since their father was on a work related trip for a week, coming back a few days before the wedding.

He wasn't family yet.

"It's only a little bit of magic, Tuney," Lily said calmly as she rested the magazine down and got up. "Calm down before you give yourself a hernia. Merlin…"

"Ugh, I can't stand you!" Petunia shouted, grabbing the roots of her hair.

"You're not so pleasant yourself this week!" shouted Lily, in Petunia's face. "And your fiancée is a pompous wanker in my opinion, dear sister. Acting like he runs this house when he's not even apart of the family. And he can't even respect his to-be sister-in-law enough to stop referring to her as '_it' _or _'the weirdo.' _He acts like a prick. That's what I think about your fucking fiancée."

"If you feel like that, maybe you shouldn't be in the wedding," Petunia said after a moment.

That hurt. Lily felt that one in her chest. Did Petunia really mean it? Did she even realize what she said? "Petunia…"

"Yeah, that will solve many problems," said Petunia, standing straighter. "I can get Frances Miller to be my Maid of Honor. She'll probably be better at it anyways-"

"Petunia, come on," Lily murmured in a soft voice. She wasn't able to speak much louder than this because she felt as if she were going to cry.

"No, this is actually a brilliant idea. Vernon will be very pleased."

Lily saw it: the determination in Petunia's eyes. She wasn't going to let go of the idea now. So, Lily closed her eyes to shut the tears back and let out under her breath, "I can't believe you."

She couldn't stay in the house any longer, especially with Petunia looking now ecstatic about not having Lily as her Maid of Honor. Lily ran upstairs and grabbed a small book bag with two fresh pairs of clothes and underwear. She wrote a note, revealing that she needed to get out for a few days. She walked over to the phone and decided to call Evie.

"_Hi, this is Evie Williams. Sorry that I'm not in right now, but if you leave a phone number and a name I'll get back to you as soon as possible. But if you are by chance James Potter, Sirius Black, or Peter Pettigrew, please properly screw off and stop prank calling me. Remus, I'll take a message from you though. Thank you."_

Lily slammed the phone down before the beep occurred and groaned as she wiped a few tears away. She didn't know that Evie was in fact at the Crenshaws, having her weekly dinner with them.

She didn't know whom else to call. She didn't want to burden anyone, but she really couldn't stay here… _James… _

Lily hesitantly looked out the window and gulped. James had told her the address of his house once at Godric's Hollow. She took a steady breath and imagined the place, determined to get there. But was this right…

With a tightening and spinning feeling, Lily arrived in front of a large cottage. It was a sweet looking house with a proper fence and little metal gate. The house had two levels and looked to be made of stone bricks. There was a little vine twirling around the house. It was lovely.

"Oh no," Lily muttered to herself. She actually apprated there – she didn't mean to. She should probably apparate away before anyone sees her-

"Lily…?"

Lily turned around to her side to see James Potter standing before her. He was wearing airy summer clothes and holding what looked like a brown shopping bag. And for some reason, he looked especially handsome this evening.

"Oh hi James," Lily smiled weakly, wiping her eyes to make sure there were no more tears. He raised an eyebrow, questioning as to why she was here. "Sorry, I honestly didn't mean to. It's just that… Evie wasn't home and… I… I just couldn't stay there anymore-"

"Well, you came right in time for dinner. My mom is making chicken, pasta, and salad," said James in a kind voice.

Lily watched him in minor awe as he proceeded to open the gate. He let her walk in first and they walked together to get to the front door.

"Mum, Lily is here to have dinner with us!" James shouted as he opened the door with a push.

"Lily Evans? Oh how lovely – hello, Lily dear," Mrs. Potter said in a genuinely happy voice, but her body was hidden in the kitchen.

"Hello, Mrs. Potter," Lily said in a softer, but still kind voice. "Is it ok if I have dinner with you tonight?"

"Of course," Mrs. Potter called out. "I love having dinner guests."

Lily looked up anxiously at James who gave her a nod with a smile. "Don't worry about it – you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"Thank you," Lily smiled.

James smiled charmingly back as they walked into the living room. There she could see Mrs. Potter at the stove, magically making dinner for her family.

"Where's Sirius?" Lily asked and then giving James a small smirk. "It's quiet."

James chuckled lowly. "He's having dinner with his uncle. He'll be here later though."

"James! Did you get me the tomatoes?" Mrs. Potter shouted from the kitchen, checking the food she had been cooking.

"Oh yeah," James said and grabbed the bag, pulling out a plastic carton of cherry red tomatoes. He got up and passed them to his mom.

"Oh do you need any help?" asked Lily, standing up and feeling bad that she had not asked earlier.

"No, no, it's fine," smiled Mrs. Potter, who looked back with a smile. She then said, "I am almost done. If I wanted to someone to help me, it would be my _son _who never helps his mother cook."

"Mum," groaned James, "You don't cook. Dad does."

Mrs. Potter mimicked her son and laughed along with Lily. "Don't worry, but would you two please set the table. One for your father too, James."

James and Lily got up and walked over to the dining room. Together, they set up four plates at the comfortably small dining table. Once they were done, the front door opened with Mr. Potter coming in.

"I'm home," said Mr. Potter. "Sorry I wasn't home to cook. Oh- hello, Miss Evans, what a pleasant surprise to see you here."

"I'm sorry if I am intruding," Lily apologized once more. "I can leave-"

"Why?" asked Mr. Potter, "It's nice to see a change of dinner guests. We love dinner guests."

Lily smiled warmly. "Thank you."

"All right," said Mrs. Potter, "Dinner is ready. Everyone sit."

James and Lily took seats across from one another as did Mr. and Mrs. Potter. "Thank you for joining us for dinner, Lily. It was truly a delightful surprise," said Mr. Potter, putting up his glass of champagne.

Mrs. Potter and James put up there glasses as well. Lily put hers and smiled, "Thank you for letting me stay."

"So what brings you to our humble abode?" asked Mr. Potter.

"Dad," James said sternly, looking at his plate.

A bit embarrassed, Mr. Potter put his hands up in the air to mean no harm done. "Oh, if it's a subject that should not be discussed then we shall move on-"

"No, no," said Lily. "It's fine. Well, my sister and I have been fighting a lot recently. Her wedding is coming up, so I understand a bit of her cattiness for lack of a better word. My father is out of the country for work, and he won't be back until a few days before the wedding. So it's just her and me. Today, we had a bad fight and well, she took me out of the wedding…"

James stopped eating and dropped his fork. "Are you fucking kidding?"

"_James_," Lily said, looking back and forth between the Potter parents.

"Pardon, but is your sister mental?" James asked incredulously. "How could she do that?"

"Well, I suppose I was overly patronizing her fiancée, but he's always being a bit of a git in my opinion. And well, I was telling her about how he was treating me unfairly due to me being a witch. And she flipped out and told me that I was out of the wedding. I thought she was just being mean at first, which I'm relatively used to, but then I saw that determination in her eyes. She meant it one hundred percent. I had to get out of there."

Mrs. Potter put a hand on Lily's hand. "You can stay here as long as you like, Lily. I understand."

Lily smiled. "Thank you, but I don't want to impose-"

"Oh please, impose," revealed Mr. Potter. "There is so much testerone in this house with Sirius staying, I could use a bit of estrogen."

"Ahem!" Mrs. Potter squeaked.

"I mean younger estrogen to balance out Sirius' young testerone. You know, honey."

"Nice save," Mrs. Potter murmured as she rolled her eyes.

James and Lily laughed. But underneath Lily's bright laugh, James could still see some sadness, disappointment, and tiredness. It would be good for Lily to get out of her house and stay here… not because he wanted her, but it would be better for Lily's sake. James kept telling himself that.


End file.
